Even a Shred of Heart
by Mr.Who2123
Summary: Set after KH2. Join Roxas as he, Axel, and Demyx go on a journey to stop the newly revived Xemnas from completing KH. However, along the way, he discovers many things, such as a forgotten past, and his true potential... Rated for Blood and death.
1. Return of No one's Existence

Even a Shred of Heart

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Mr.Who2123: Well, ANOTHER new story…I've got ideas EVERYWHERE in my head…hehehe.

Roxas: And this story is going to be all about me!

Mr.Who2123: Yup! (Hugs and Suffocates Roxas)

Roxas: cough…wheeze… (Let's begin.)

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Chapter 1: Return of No ones' Existence

Sora lay on the soft cushions of his bed. He was back on Destiny Islands, and it was good to be back. Drowsily, he dropped his head on a pillow and fell asleep within minutes, dreaming away.

Sora found himself in the Realm of Darkness while sleeping, instantly figuring out it was a dream. It was quiet and peaceful; there were no more Nobodies to worry about at least. While strolling through his dream, Sora heard footsteps sounding behind him. Instantly, Sora whirled around to find a familiar face behind him: Roxas.

"Wha-What are you doing here?" Sora asked, folding his arms across his chest. His Nobody smiled, and then looked down at his shoes.

"I'm going away, Sora," he answered hesitantly. The Nobody turned around, though his head was turned back to look at Sora. "I don't know why, but I'm going."

"Wait, where are you going?" Sora asked frantically as a dark portal appeared before Roxas.

Sora stepped forward to grasp Roxas, but he disappeared, and Sora was alone again.

"What does he mean?" Sora asked himself, before waking up suddenly. He was back in his bed on Destiny Islands. The sun was rising and the ocean outside his window reflected the red hues of dawn.

"That was a weird dream, but all I know is that Roxas is always with me," Sora mumbled to himself as he got dressed.

"Sora!" shouted a voice from out the window. Sora peeked out to see Kairi waving up at him, smiling. Sora waved back, returning a smile as well, and then hurried out the door. As he ran up to Kairi on the beach, Sora saw Riku coming from the other side, waving. Sora waved back.

"Hey, Riku!" Sora called optimistically, clasping his friend on the back. "How does it feel to be back home?" Riku put his hands on his waist and looked up at the brightening sky.

"It's weird. Nothing's changed, and it feels like we never left at all. But I really missed this island," Riku replied as Sora and Kairi, who just ran up, listened raptly.

"That's good to hear," Kairi remarked. "C'mon, let's go to our old spot!" The old spot was actually a palm tree where Kairi, Riku, and Sora always used to talk about everything that happened before the day when Sora became the chosen Keyblade master.

Riku leaned against the tree while Sora and Kairi sat on it with their feet dangling inches above the ground. The sun had risen and the day was dawning upon all of them as they watched the waters and the sky turn to its normal light blue color.

"I wonder what that dream meant," Sora muttered to himself as he watched a fish jump out of the ocean and quickly back in.

"What dream?" Kairi asked curiously, leaning forward to see Sora's face.

"C'mon, tell us," Riku piped in. Sora sighed in resignation. He really didn't want to say anything; he thought the dream was really pointless.

"Well, I was in the Realm of Darkness, and then Roxas was there. He told me he was going away, but he also said he didn't know why," Sora explained. Riku folded his arms and closed his eyes.

"Do you think it means anything?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

"I don't know," Sora replied, and put his arms behind his head.

"Hey, let's not brood over something like this!" Kairi exclaimed. Riku looked, smiled, and nodded, but Sora didn't reply.

"Sora?" she asked again. Sora fell off of the palm tree and into the ocean, his eyes closed and his body motionless.

"SORA!" Riku and Kairi both yelled in distress. Sora, unconscious, lay in the ocean as Riku jumped down to help his friend. He lifted him out of the water and placed him on the sandy floor.

"Is he alright?" Kairi asked, running next to him. Concern fringed her voice as she knelt by Sora, listening for a heartbeat. Relieved by the drum like sound, Kairi looked up at Riku.

"What happened?" she asked desperately, looking at Riku. Riku shook his head sadly.

"Well, it's good that he's at least alive," Riku pointed out. He picked up Sora gently and headed back to Sora's house with Kairi by his side. As they entered Sora's room, the two hesitated to put Sora down, as if they were scared to accept his danger. Slowly, Riku placed Sora onto his bed with delicate care.

"Oh, why does this have to happen?" Kairi moaned and cried on the bed next to Sora, while Riku looked at his childhood friend with confused sadness. A tear sparkled in his eye, but he quickly wiped it away.

"Don't worry, Kairi," Riku said, "Everything will be alright." Though, Riku wasn't sure of that himself.

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Mr.Who2123: Well, please review, and tell me if you like it or not, or any constructive criticism, but please no flames! Oh, and sorry it was such a short chapter! I wanted to make it short so you guys would want to read more!

Roxas: I wonder what happens next…

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Preview of Chapter 2: Organization Returned

_"Axel?" Roxas stuttered in disbelief. Axel laughed. _

_"What's the face for? Where's my tough best friend?" Axel exclaimed, hugging Roxas, who laughed along with him. _

Mr.Who2123: Oooooh, what happens in the next chapter?


	2. Organization Returned

Even a Shred of Heart

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Mr.Who2123: Hehehe, well, I forgot the Disclaimer in the last one, so here it is: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Square Enix, so don't think I do!

Roxas: Hurry! Start the story!

Mr.Who2123: Alright, alright!

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Chapter 2: Organization Returned

Roxas felt cold all around him, making him shiver. Where was he? He felt empty and alone. Is he still with Sora? Slowly, he lifted himself up and opened his eyes. If he opened his own eyes, then he must be apart from Sora! Roxas saw his hands were in black gloves and he had long black sleeves. His Organization XIII clothes? Roxas felt for the hood over his face and quickly pulled it back.

He wasn't in Sora, so what happened? Questions filled his mind as Roxas stumbled up.

"What's going on?" he muttered to himself. Roxas then took in his surroundings; it was his old room back when he was still in the Organization. The white tile floor covered the whole room, and white pillars stood in the perimeter of the circular room. The black sky of the World That Never Was shone through a giant window. The room was completely spotless except for a couple drawings pinned to the walls.

Curious, Roxas headed towards the few pictures and took each of them off before examining them. The Nobody widened his eyes at the familiarity of the pictures.

"Wait, these are Namine's pictures!" Roxas exclaimed. Roxas observed the first one. It was a picture of Axel and him together, smiling towards him. He almost laughed at the spiky blonde hair drawn for him, for it seemed way too…spiky. _C'mon, it can't be THAT bad!_ Roxas thought humorously, absently touching his hair. Then he noticed Axel.

"Axel," Roxas whispered to himself before looking at the next picture.

The next one was also another familiar one. He and Sora were holding hands, looking out towards Sora's two friends: Donald and Goofy. The Roxas was in his black robe and the Sora in his old traveling clothes; a black shirt with a small jacket and red shorts. _I wonder why these are here,_ he thought.

The last picture was brand new. As if drawn hastily, the picture showed Roxas and Namine back when they were in the White Room, looking at each other from across a table. Roxas was in his clothes from Twilight Town: baggy pants, black shirt and a small white jacket.

"I remember that. It's when I found out who I really was…," Roxas said to himself.

_Why are these pictures here?_ Roxas thought before looking up towards the exit. _I'll see what's going on._ Roxas hurried out the door and into the main hall where all of the Organization members' rooms could all be accessed. There were steps that led to the Organization leader, Xemnas' room. Roxas, still confused, wandered in the hall.

"Might as well check out Axel's room," Roxas said, looking towards his friend's room. "I wonder if he's okay-"

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_Sora looked down on the dying Nobody. _

_"Axel, you're fading!" he exclaimed in concern. Axel smiled. _

_"Well, it is the fate of a Nobody," Axel remarked, and chuckled a little. Suddenly, his face grew solemn. _

_"You should hurry. Save Kairi!" he exclaimed and lifted his hand. With the darkness, he created a portal, but it dropped as soon as he summoned it. _

_"Oh, and before I forget, tell Kairi that I'm sorry," Axel added. _

_"Go and tell her yourself!" Sora exclaimed angrily, urging the Nobody relentlessly. _

_"I don't think I have the heart for it. Don't have one," Axel said, and chuckled more. "But, Roxas…he made me feel like I have a heart. You…You make me feel the same…" he hesitated. "Hurry, go save Kairi. Saix has taken her from me, but you can still save her." _

_"Axel…," Sora muttered, and Axel finally faded away, back into the darkness. _

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"Oh, that's right…he's gone," Roxas muttered to himself sadly. Slowly, Roxas walked into his best friend's room. Inside was plain white tile on the floor like Roxas' room, except flames burst everywhere in the perimeter.

"Hey, Roxas, how's my old bud doing?" a voice rang suddenly. Flames burst in front of Roxas and Axel appeared, smiling carelessly.

"Axel?" Roxas stuttered in disbelief. Axel laughed.

"What's the face for? Where's my tough best friend?" Axel exclaimed, hugging Roxas, who laughed along with him. Axel clenched his hand and rubbed Roxas' head playfully, hurting his head.

"Hey, cut that out!" Roxas exclaimed, pushing Axel away and folding his arms. "Anyways, what's been going on?" Axel scratched his head in thought, but just shrugged.

"I don't really know, but I've been revived. Hey, I should be asking YOU how you're here! Aren't you supposed to be part of SORA?" Axel replied. Roxas shook his head, puzzled.

"None of this makes sense!" Roxas yelled. He smacked his face with his gloved hand and turned his back on Axel. "I need to see if the other members are alive, too." Roxas began to walk away before Axel ran up next to him.

"Wait, wait! Don't leave me behind like that, Roxas!" Axel yelled, walking next to Roxas as they left Axel's room. Roxas, still in thought, held a solemn face as they tread up towards Xemnas' room, while Axel, as always, was bored. In front of the entrance, Roxas suddenly stopped and summoned his Keyblade, which happened to be the Kingdom Key. Axel, oblivious, bumped into Roxas with his head and fell to the floor. Roxas looked at the blade with glad amazement, ignoring Axel.

"Well, it looks like I still have the power of the Keyblade," Roxas said before slowly opening the door. Axel was rubbing his head, however, muttering curses to Roxas and his clumsiness before summoning his flame wheels.

Inside the door, Roxas saw what he least expected. Xemnas was floating in front of Kingdom Hearts, laughing at his resurrection.

"Oh, Kingdom Hearts, with your dept paid, I shall give you as many hearts as you need!" Xemnas exclaimed. His robe was a mix of white and black, and energy surrounded him. Roxas widened his eyes before closing the door a little, while Axel muttered curses about Xemnas.

"I think they're all back!" Roxas exclaimed, glancing at Xemnas. Axel sighed in defeat.

"And it took Sora FOREVER to defeat all of them!" Axel remarked, putting his hands behind his spiky red hair. Roxas sighed as well, and closed the door. "But I still have no idea how we are all here," Roxas said sadly. "It looks like we have to defeat Xemnas once again."

"C'mon cheer up! Can't you be happy? Happy! H-A-P-P-Y! Got it memorized?" Axel replied carelessly. Roxas glared at Axel before opening the door once more.

"Can't YOU be serious? S-E-R-I-O-U-S! 'Got it Memorized'?" Roxas mocked back. Axel pouted, but actually DID fall serious when Roxas put a gloved finger up to his lips and lifted his Keyblade, ready to attack. Axel gripped his fire wheels and followed Roxas into the room of Xemnas.

Roxas crept carefully up the stairs to the giant altar where the incomplete Kingdom Hearts waited, along with Xemnas. The middle of Kingdom Hearts was purple, while the outside was the same hue as the moon. Suddenly, a Dusk Nobody appeared from the floor, catching the two off guard. It moved lithely under Roxas, hitting him into Axel.

"I thought that the Nobodies disappeared!" Roxas muttered as he got up and sliced the Dusk with ease. Axel threw a wheel at another one behind Roxas, felling it.

"Thanks, Axel," Roxas said before jumping up to attack another Dusk. More and more of the white Nobodies kept coming without mercy, driving the two friends to fight with all they have. After felling his twentieth one, Roxas fell on one knee, panting from the exertion. Axel looked back at his friend with concern before torching a Nobody with his flames.

"C'mon, Roxas! You are the chosen Keyblade holder! Get back into shape!" he yelled, throwing his weapons at the Dusks, bursting them to flame. Roxas looked up and smiled before struggling back.

"Yeah, I guess I AM out of shape. But let me get back into it," Roxas replied as he thrust his Kingdom Key down on a Dusk.

"That's more like it!" Axel exclaimed, and began attacking again. Roxas sliced horizontally at a nearby Dusk, knocking it back into another, tumbling them off of the castle. _Oops, hehehe,_ Roxas said in his thoughts. After the long battle, Roxas and Axel emerged victorious and tired.

"(Huff) It looks like they're all gone," gasped Roxas, tired from the battle. He let go of the Keyblade, making it disappear. Axel did the same with his own weapons.

"I still think you need a little more practice!" Axel teased, and playfully punched Roxas on the shoulder. Instantly, he ran for it, leaving an angry Roxas chasing him up the flights of stairs.

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Mr.Who2123: Well, there you have it…not much longer, but it works.

Roxas: Please Review!

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Preview of Chapter 3: First Battle, Last Loss

_"But Axel, don't you want to be whole again?" Roxas asked meekly, looking down at his hands. _

_"Yeah, Roxas, I actually do, but you would sacrifice the world so you can be satisfied?" Axel answered, his anger for Xemnas still growing. _


	3. First Battle, Last Loss

Even a Shred of Heart

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Mr.Who2123: Wow, this is sad. This is my third chapter and the document manager is still down…weird.

Roxas: She doesn't own Square Enix or Kingdom Hearts by the way.

Mr.Who2123: Though I wish I did…

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First Battle, Last Loss

Axel knelt down below the altar, gasping for air. Roxas was not far behind, walking slowly, trying to regain his breath as well. Finally, the Keyblade wielder fell on the floor, looking up at the black sky and panting heavily. Chuckling, Axel stood up.

"I guess I can still beat you at running," he said, laughing at past memories.

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_Roxas leaned on one of the many pillars in his room, thinking deeply. He had the Keyblade in his hand, yet he didn't understand why at all. _

_Axel stood behind his friend, laughing inwardly as he stepped behind Roxas and shoved the hood over his face, down to his neck. _

_"What the-ahhhh!!" Roxas yelled, falling to the floor as Axel burst out laughing at the fall. Red as a tomato, Roxas thrust his hood back and tried to grab the laughing Axel. Axel swiftly dodged it and ran laughing and Roxas, indignant, followed. _

_"You can't catch me!" Axel teased, dashing out of the door, but Roxas stopped in front of it. _

_"…I know I can't but I'll get you someday, Axel!" Roxas muttered to himself, before contemplating the Keyblade in his hand again. _

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"Yeah, whatever, Axel. I just want to beat Xemnas before the worlds come into crisis again," Roxas replied. Axel nodded; he fell back into seriousness, and summoned his weapons. Roxas got his Keyblade and ran up the path to Xemnas.

"Xemnas! What's going on?! Why are we all here?" Roxas yelled, pointing his Keyblade at the Organization leader. Xemnas turned around slowly, unsurprised of the intruders.

"Ah, Roxas, Axel. I need you to destroy more Heartless for Kingdom Hearts, so we can be whole again!" Xemnas exclaimed, ignoring the threat of the Keyblade.

"Get real, Xemnas! We'll never listen to you!" Axel yelled back angrily. Xemnas mocked being taken aback, though he held a smirk.

"Why do you not want to help the rebirth of Kingdom Hearts and ourselves? Don't you want to be whole again?" Xemnas asked, floating down to Roxas' eye level. Roxas slowly lowered his Keyblade; the thought of existence purged his anger.

"We would have our hearts to ourselves…right?" Roxas asked, clinging to his hopes. Xemnas nodded, smiling deviously.

"Yes, Roxas. Together, we can exist!" he answered.

"Roxas! Don't listen to him! Xemnas is evil!" yelled Axel. The flame master threw his spike wheels towards Xemnas, but they were knocked by the strange force that surrounded him. Axel growled in anger and his weapons returned to his hands.

Roxas looked to Axel, to Xemnas, and then back at Axel.

"But Axel, don't you want to be whole again?" Roxas asked meekly, looking down at his hands.

"Yeah, Roxas, I actually do, but you would sacrifice the world so you can be satisfied?" Axel answered, his anger for Xemnas still growing. Then he turned to the Organization leader. "You're going down, Xemnas!" Roxas looked back at Axel.

"Yeah, let's destroy the Organization once and for all!" he said, and positioned into his battle stance. Axel lifted his flaming wheels and thrust them at Xemnas again. They bounced off weakly against the reddish glow surrounding him.

"My attacks don't work!" Axel muttered as he once again regained his weapons. Roxas dashed up to Xemnas and thrust his Keyblade at him, which Xemnas jumped away from.

"Traitors, you cannot destroy me! I will be whole, and the most powerful being alive!" Xemnas shouted, and his red laser swords appeared in each hand. Roxas gripped his Keyblade before running up to attack again. Xemnas blocked it with his blade, and thrust the other at Roxas. Axel threw his wheel to parry the blow Xemnas made and Roxas sliced at him again, successfully hitting him in the shoulder. Xemnas jumped away, clutching his shoulder with his left hand and holding a blade out with the right.

'I've forgotten the power of that blade," Xemnas said, glancing at the Keyblade. Suddenly, Xemnas jumped forward, hitting at Roxas who blocked the blow. Xemnas then took his hand off of his shoulder and summoned his other blade, now thrusting with twice the power. Roxas bent low to block a blow towards his legs, but the power of the leader brought him down on one knee, holding the Keyblade against the laser blades for his life. Just as Roxas' strength left him, Xemnas lifted his blade and thrust down with incredible force.

Roxas yelled as his blade flew from him, leaving him defenseless. Xemnas held one blade next to Roxas' lowered spiky blonde head. The heat of the blade resounded off of Roxas' cheek as he knelt there, gasping for breath and admitting defeat.

"Roxas, I'll give you one more chance to-," Xemnas began. A wheel cut at his back while Xemnas lowered his defenses. He grunted in pain and whirled on the attacker, Axel, though the blade was still held next to Roxas head. "How dare you!" Xemnas explained. The blade in his free hand disappeared, and a ball of dark energy gathered there in its place. It quickly gathered energy until it was larger than his fist. The energy glowed black with speckles of light occasionally flickering in it.

"Uh-oh," Axel muttered, and Xemnas fired the blast right at him. Axel quickly made wall of fire as it shot up from the ground blazing wildly and brightly. The flames intercepted the blast and held strong as the blast tried pummeling through it. "Whew!" Axel muttered behind the wall.

Roxas, watching the attack, noticed the Keyblade on the floor disappear. He smiled before jumping up and leaping away from Xemnas, catching him off guard. A light burst in Roxas' hand and the Keyblade appeared in its place.

"Xemnas, you're surrounded! Just give it up!" Roxas exclaimed, pointing his Keyblade at him. Axel lowered the fire after the blast dispersed and had his weapons ready. Xemnas looked at his fellow Nobodies and began to laugh out loud. He held his chest as he let out gasps of enjoyment while Roxas and Axel watched him, shocked and unmoving. Once his chuckling ended, Xemnas shook his head as if in disappointment.

"No, traitors. It is you that's surrounded," he replied, and snapped his fingers.

"What?" Roxas began, but was suddenly surrounded by three Organization members: Larxene, Zexion, and Luxord. "What's going on?" Larxene made a mock pout at him when Zexion and Luxon grabbed him by the arms.

"Oh, the poor traitor lost!" she exclaimed in a mocking tone, then smiled as they dragged him off forcefully.

"Hey, let go of me! Axel!!!!" Roxas yelled, struggling against his former comrades as they dragged him off.

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Roxas felt cold again, though not physically, but emotionally. He had lost Sora and Axel, and let Xemnas free to do his will. Roxas placed his head in his hands and moaned.

"Maybe I'm not good for anything without Sora," Roxas muttered. He lifted his hand and the Keyblade appeared on his hand, ever bright and silver. "Maybe I am just a Nobody, unimportant and helpless." He looked at the Keyblade before letting it disappear again.

"Hey, is that ROXAS saying that?" a voice yelled. Roxas looked up and leaned close to the cell bars. The prison was dark and empty as always, and the other members threw him in one.

"Axel?" Roxas asked, gripping the vertical bars. He could feel the cold underneath his gloves.

"Yeah, but I can't believe what you just said!" Axel replied. Roxas followed the voice to a cell to the right and across from him. Through the dim light, Axel's crazy red hair showed through the bars.

'Well, Sora could defeat Xemnas, and I barely scratched him before losing," Roxas replied sadly.

"C'mon, that isn't the Roxas I know! You were willing to keep trying, no matter what! Even if we don't have hearts…you kept trying and never lost sight of your goal!" Axel replied. "Maybe you've changed because of Sora. Stop comparing yourself to him! You're as good as him, but you're out of shape! Cheer up." Roxas contemplated his words only for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said and smiled at Axel, or what he could make out of him through the bars.

"Now that's more like it! Let's find a way out of these cells!" Axel said, and he disappeared from Roxas' sight. "Start looking for a way!" Because of a magic barrier, neither Roxas nor Axel could create a portal to escape, so they would have to escape the hard way.

Roxas turned back to the small cell and felt the stone wall for any hint of a passageway. While feeling the walls, Roxas spoke up again.

"Axel, you know how you said that we don't have hearts?" he asked.

"Yeah," Axel replied quickly.

"Well, I was thinking…I think we do have hearts, or at least some kind of heart," Roxas said. "You see, when I was at Twilight Town, when I couldn't remember anything, I had real feelings. I was happy, sad, and angry; I really felt all of those, so we have to have hearts. Maybe we just can't find them." As Roxas finished, his hand caught onto a stone protruding from the wall.

"Think I found something!" Roxas yelled. Roxas pulled out the stone gingerly. It was about as big as two fists, and he placed it on the floor next to his feet. Slowly, Roxas put one hand through the hole to feel his way through. He couldn't feel anything, so he ventured farther with his hand, pushing his whole arm into the hole. Under the thin gloves, Roxas felt a small breeze from the outside. Bingo.

"I found it!" Roxas exclaimed. Quickly, he brought his arm back out, and with ease, grabbed all of the other loose stones and threw them to the floor. Soon, there was a hole large enough for him to crawl through, and Roxas smiled at his accomplishment.

"Axel, I'll come back, alright?" Roxas said, and entered the hole on his hands and knees. Roxas inched his way through the small passageway until it opened up into a blank room. The floors were black tile while the walls were white, and the room had all sorts of boxes and lanterns stacked in corners. A small round, wooden table stood in the middle and a chair beside it, both intricately crafted with delicate designs fringing the edges.

"Hm, I wonder who was here," Roxas said, walking up to the table. He observed the small designs and looked around for an exit. "C'mon, there has to be a way! How did the person get out if there was no exit?" Roxas muttered as he pushed away at a crate filled with heavy objects. As Roxas tried pushing the crate, he saw he wasn't moving it at all.

"What's in there?" Roxas moaned to himself as he put his back against the crate exerting himself completely, though the crate didn't move at all. "C'mon!!" Roxas gave one last shove, but it didn't budge at all. Sighing in defeat, Roxas chose to unload the crate. He pulled the heavy wooden board top off, stripping them away one by one. He threw them aside and leaned over the crate, looking into the contents.

Inside was Roxas' clothes from Twilight Town, when he forgot what he was; a Nobody.

"What are these doing here?" he asked himself, picking up the shirt, and remembering the times he had with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Smiling sadly at the memories, Roxas picked up the clothes. "I really want to change out of these robes, but it wouldn't feel right if I just changed right now," he muttered to himself. Quickly, Roxas glanced around and shrugged, deciding to change.

"I don't think anyone will see me," he said as he threw off the robe, letting it fall to the floor. Roxas quickly changed, constantly glancing around for intruders, but no one came, and soon, Roxas was examining his clothes in a shattered mirror in the crate. It was cracked down the middle, and it showed two halves of Roxas, one higher than the other.

He watched his reflection and smiled, putting his hands behind his head.

"That's me. No one else. Not Sora, not anybody else. That's really…me," he kept saying, smiling wider at his words. "I belong to myself!" Roxas jumped in the air with glee and quickly shoved the crate away. It seemed so much lighter after changing that it surprised him. Just as he expected, there was a trap door under the crate, and Roxas, filled with happiness, threw open the wooden door and felt for a step with his shoe. Through the door, it was pitch black, and Roxas couldn't even see the first step of the stairs that led down. He waved his foot blindly until he heard the sound of shoe on stone, and put his other foot down there.

"I'm coming, Axel," he vowed, and tread down the stone stairs slowly, looking around blindly. Step after careful step, Roxas felt his way down to the floor, even if he didn't realize is at first. He was on the floor, and sure there were more stairs, he put his foot down, but hit the ground quickly and stumbled back. Waving his arms frantically, Roxas fell on his butt, nearly laughing at himself. After his mirth, Roxas stood up, looking around at the pitch black darkness.

_How am I going to find my way through here?_ Roxas thought. Then, he remembered he had the Keyblade. _The light from it being summoned could work, at least for only a little bit._ Roxas held out his hand and watched a light appear. The room lit up, as if there was a lamp in it. Quickly, Roxas looked around to see where exactly he was. It looked like another storage room, and the light from the Keyblade shone long enough to let Roxas find the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Soon, the light went out and the black came over the whole room again.

Roxas could feel the Keyblade in his hand, though he couldn't see it, even if it was only a couple feet from his head. Roxas walked slowly to what he thought as the middle of the room and stretched his arm upwards to feel for the switch. He waved it blindly, muttering, until it grasped a thin chain. Praying the bulb wasn't out, Roxas pulled lightly on the chain and the light flashed on, illuminating the room. Not needing the Keyblade any longer, it disappeared with a flash of light, and Roxas was able to fully examine the room.

The whole room was not actually a storage room, but a library, to a certain extent. Books lay in piles everywhere, dusty and dull. The pages were yellow on books left open, and moth holes covered the pages. There were shelves, but they were empty, for all the books had been taken out and read, but never put back. A small and old bed stood in the corner of the room, perfectly made. Moth holes covered the blankets as well.

"Wow, I wonder who lived here," Roxas thought out loud as he walked casually up to an open book. It seemed especially old, and the binding practically fell off when he picked it up. He gingerly placed it back onto the round table it was on, and started his search for an exit.

After much searching, Roxas found a secret door behind the wooden shelf.

"Please, be the end of this stupid escape route!" Roxas said to himself and ran through. Roxas looked around his new surroundings, and recognized Kingdom Hearts shining brightly in the sky. Roxas smiled and leaped in the air. "I'm free!" he said. "Now, shouldn't I be able to make a portal out here?"

Roxas outstretched his hand and closed his eyes. He imagined the cell room and Axel's cell, the exact spot he wanted to go. Dark energy gathered, and a dark vortex spun in front of Roxas. Without another moment to spare, Roxas ran through.

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Mr.Who2123: Well, I hope that makes up for the short chapters before! Wow, I actually really enjoyed writing this much!

Roxas: Wow, like 1,000 more words than usual! Well, anyways, please review!!

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Preview of Chapter 4: Escape! 

_"Well, if we can't defeat Xemnas, then what DO we do?" Axel asked, folding his arms. _

_"We'll get stronger," Roxas replied firmly. _

_"And HOW are we going to do that?" Axel asked smartly. _

_"We find Namine," Roxas answered, still strongly. "She must know something of this."_


	4. Escape!

Even a Shred of Heart

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Mr.Who2123: Another chapter, well after reading Angels in Flight: Towa no Shirube by Hoshizora no Hikari, and man, is that story GOOD, yet it takes like, a whole DAY to read it. It did for me! So, you should read it, in respect for me and her! Well, let's get someone to do the disclaimer!

Roxas: Oooh! Pick ME!!! –Waves arms frantically, accidentally whacking Mr.Who2123 on the nose- Oops.

Mr.Who2123: Owwww! Because of that, you're not going to do the Disclaimer! Come, Namine!

Namine: Wassup!!! This authoress does not own anything! WOOT!! Wait, I mean, how SAD!! –Fake cries, while Mr.Who2123 and Roxas stare at her like she's psycho-

Mr.Who2123: A little OOC, but…whatever! Let's start! Oh, wait, I just wanted to say 'Thanks' for my ONLY TWO reviewers! THANKS Tori and Freshie! –Waves crazily just like Roxas- Peoples! Review! I didn't get 300 hits from just them! Oh, and I changed the story name!! I like this one better...conflicting feelings are FUN!!

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Chapter 4: Escape!

Roxas hated going through portals. He just…did. While groping around in the pitch black for a couple minutes, the very darkness itself seemed to grab you, trying to pull you back to the abyss of darkness. You constantly felt pulled at from everywhere he could think of, and when Roxas would begin to stumble, the portal would open, and he would run out of it. Roxas never got used to them, either, unlike the other members who usually learned quickly. Axel used to always protest, saying there's nothing wrong with the portals, but Roxas never used them unless he really HAD to.

This trip to the prison was no different. It actually felt worse from not doing it in so long, and his stomach flipped as he felt himself moving through the tempting darkness. It seemed like hours later when a dim ray of light shone in the darkness, and Roxas ran through it, glad to be out, once and for all. Once out, he bent down, placing his hands on his legs, and sighed. The portal disappeared with the flick of a wrist, and Roxas stood up. The dull black stone immediately made Roxas recognize the prison. _Well, at least I made it to the right place,_ he thought, remembering an unpleasant memory of warping to the wrong place long ago.

Roxas looked left and right, but Axel was in neither of the cells around him.

"Huh. Maybe my destination got a little off," he thought out loud as he nonchalantly strolled through the prison room, looking for the familiar spiky red hair. "Axel?" Roxas called, walking down the isles. _Why does the Organization need so many cells, anyways? We never used these cells anyways. We could have made a bowling alley. Well, I guess a bowling alley isn't so evil. It would ruin our reputation,_ Roxas absently thought, drifting off mentally. He then caught his words and realization dawned on what he said. _Wait, OUR reputation? No, THEIR reputation. I'm not part of this stupid group anymore._

"Roxas! I'm back here! HELLO!" Axel yelled from behind, waving an arm out of the cell. Roxas snapped from his thoughts and mentally slapped himself for being as absent-minded as walking past Axel.

"Oops, sorry, Axel," Roxas replied, and dashed back for his cell. Roxas took a hold of the lock keeping the cell closed, and then his Kingdom Key appeared in his right hand. Roxas then lifted it up to the lock and a blue light gathered at the tip of the key. It shot a thin beam right at the lock, and it disappeared completely. The door Axel was leaning on opened quickly, moving with Axel's weight, and the Fire master fell on the floor. Roxas couldn't help but laugh at his clumsy friend.

"Ow, that hurt!" Axel moaned, rubbing his nose. The Kingdom Key disappeared from Roxas' hand as Axel stood and straightened his robe. He glanced over at Roxas' new clothes, and eyes them suspiciously. "Where'd you get them?" Roxas placed his hands behind his head.

"Well, I found them in a huge crate while escaping," Roxas explained, and the two started their escape…though it didn't look like one, for they were taking their time, walking leisurely out.

"A crate, eh? Do you know whose it is?" he asked, looking at his friend. Roxas just shook his spiky blonde hair, and they continued in silence for a moment.

"Hey, Axel," Roxas started, not looking at him. "Do you remember how I said that we might have a heart?" Axel put his hand on his chin and nodded. "Well, what do you think? Do you believe you have a heart?" Roxas made a motion to where his heart would be, and sighed sadly.

"I actually don't know now after you told me that. Man, do you have to make me think so much?" Axel muttered as they crept up the stairs, finally trying to act stealthily. Roxas put a finger to his lips as he took a couple steps up and looked around for any sign of the Organization. He heard footsteps, and immediately jerked his head down, so he couldn't be seen, and Axel, understanding the situation, ducked as well. The footsteps clanked with every collision on the stone floor, but they stopped right in front of the cell. Strangely, the sound continued, but the feet were unmoving. Soon, another pair of feet came into view with the first, and the sound finally stopped.

"Do you think we should try to knock some sense into those two?" a laidback voice asked, indicating Demyx, the master of water. Roxas tensed as he tried to slowly back down, hoping they wouldn't go down.

"I don't know. Roxas is just stubborn, and Axel is too dumb," the other voice answered, Larxene. Axel growled angrily at the remark, but Roxas placed a quick, reassuring hand on Axel's shoulder to calm him down.

"Well, the truth is, Larxy, that I kind of miss the two. I mean, I got all my laughs from Axel, and with them gone, life is pretty dull, ya know what I mean?" Demyx said, starting to take a step towards the cell. "C'mon, let's go." Demyx and Larxene's footsteps began clinking against the stairs towards the escapees. Hoping Demyx wouldn't catch them, Roxas and Axel, as lightly as they could, ran down the stairs and hid behind the walls either side of the stairs. Axel could be well blended into the black if he had is hood over himself, but Roxas was in a real predicament with white clothes.

The footsteps got louder, and axel forced the robe over his red hair and his face, while Roxas squinted his eyes shut, preparing for the worst.

The footsteps kept sounding, louder and louder, and Roxas opened one eye slightly, catching sight of Demyx passing by him. The sitar player looked around briefly before disappearing, but Larxene was still walking down the stairs. It was funny to hear footsteps go away, but at the same time, get louder and louder. He felt he was going backwards, and the other person wasn't moving at all. Larxene walked into Roxas' sight, her hood down and her light blonde hair fell loosely down to her neck.

Suddenly, Roxas had the urge to sneeze. _CRAP! Why do bad things always happen to me!_ Roxas thought, feeling his nose begin to itch. He quickly put a hand to his nose and pinched it quickly, and the itch dispersed. Roxas sighed deeply in relief.

"Hey, how'd you get out here?" Larxene yelled. _Nice going, making noise like that, _Roxas thought sarcastically, looking straight at Larxene. Axel stood motionless, still unnoticed.

"Whoa! Hey, Larxene! They're…gone!" Roxas heard Demyx yell frantically from the cells, and soon after, footsteps sounded, getting louder. Larxene rolled her eyes and grabbed Roxas forcefully by the arm. Her grip was as unyielding as her attitude; she was a stubborn woman.

"Demyx, I already have Roxas. Hurry and find Axel!" she called back, pulling Roxas towards a cell, whilst he tried pulling back, though it only slowed her a little.

"Let go of me, Larxene!" Roxas protested, but she kept walking towards a cell to lock him in. She only glanced back quickly, but she did not say a word. _Okay, let's try a different route,_ Roxas thought, finding something to say. "Hey, would you want to be thrown in a cell for something you thought was right?" The pulling stopped. Bingo. She looked back at me coldly, unsure of what to do.

"What am I supposed to do with you, Roxas?" she asked herself. The two were next to a cell, and she had full ability to just throw him in and lock the gate.

"I don't know. Maybe, let him go," a voice said behind them. The two both looked back at the same time to see Axel with his wheels out. As if reading Roxas' confused gaze, Axel pointed back to a knocked out Demyx. "A quick little knock on the head sent him down." Larxene looked at Roxas, then axel, then Demyx, and then back at Roxas.

"Fine," she muttered, letting Roxas go. "I give in. Do what you want, but ONLY because I'm nice." She folded her arms and walked over two her knocked out comrade. She knelt by him and then picked him up, swinging him over her shoulder. Larxene then turned to give us a long gaze before exiting up the stairs. Roxas sighed again, relief flowing through him, and Axel smiled knowingly, proud of his deed.

"C'mon, let's get out of this hellhole," Axel said, and ran, while Roxas followed closely behind. The two bounded up the stairs, not waiting for an empty, and dashed madly for Roxas' room where he could teleport out quickly. Roxas slammed the door shut behind them, unknowing and uncaring if someone followed them. Axel stuck out his hand, but hesitated creating the portal.

"Roxas, where do we go?" he asked, confused. Roxas placed a hand on his chin in, thinking deeply.

"I don't really know," Roxas muttered, shrugging.

"Oh, this is just great. Roxas the genius!" Axel yelled sarcastically. "Why don't we just try to bust up Xemnas again?"

"No, we can't do that. Xemnas is too powerful for us," Roxas replied, still focusing on a destination.

"Then where do we go, smart one?" Axel said, his patience running out quickly. Suddenly, an idea burst in Roxas' head.

"We go to Destiny Island and we talk to Namine. She'll know what's going on," Roxas said, and then added. "You've never been there, let me do it." Roxas held out his palm and imagined the island back when he was inside of Sora. The salty breeze, the warm sunlight trickling down his face, the cool water touching his feet, and then the portal appeared in front of him.

"Alright, let's go!" Axel exclaimed, and walked in. Roxas gulped at the portal and entered as well. The darkness seemed to tug at Roxas, bugging him the whole time, though Axel was whistling a tune while they waited. He turned and saw the obviously bugged Roxas, and cocked his head.

"Do you hate my singing or something?" he asked defensively. Roxas looked up, surprised, and then shook his head.

"No, I don't like it. It's just that…," Roxas started slightly embarrassed of his weakness, "well, I'm not comfortable in portals, remember?" Axel's face brightened as he recalled the many times Roxas refused to warp, and then nodded in understanding.

Soon after Roxas' remark, the portal opened a passageway, but the bright light that shone through seemed unbearable for Axel.

"Whoa, how the heck is it so bright?" he exclaimed as he followed Roxas, who promptly just walked through, enjoying the light. Roxas sighed as heard his shoes crunch on sand. Was he…sad? Or was he just thinking of the memories with Namine? Either way, Roxas just shook his head and walked through the beach, looking for Kairi, but ultimately Namine.

"Man, how do you stand all this light?" Axel muttered, and Roxas looked back, amused at the disgruntled face of his friend.

"You just hang around too much in darkness Axel," Roxas remarked, and caught sight of a small wooden shack. "Let's look in there!" Roxas started running, leaving Axel surprised in the dust., though not for long, as he kicked off the sandy floor and dashed forward to catch up to Roxas. The two quickly approached the shack, and Roxas observed it quickly before turning around and motioning for Axel to stay quiet…again.

Roxas turned the dull handle and slowly creaked the door open. It was much louder than the ones back at the castle, and Roxas winced at the huge noise in such silence. Inside, there was a teenage girl, with shoulder length auburn hair, hugging her knees and her head rested on top of them.

"Kairi?" Roxas and Axel both asked at the same time. Kairi looked up, and recognizing Axel, stood up and backed away. "Let me handle this," Roxas whispered to Axel, and walked forward. It looked like Kairi didn't recognize him. He didn't blame her. Who would recognize him? He WAS a Nobody after all.

"Kairi, it's me, Roxas," Roxas said, and Kairi stepped forward from her corner, understanding dawning on her face.

"Roxas? But you're Sora's Nobody!" she exclaimed. _Yeah, that's how they ALL identify me. Sora's NOBODY,_ he thought, but kept them inside his mind. His hate of who he was rose a little, but he managed a smile and nodded. "Oh, Roxas! Something terrible has happened to Sora! You have to see him!" Kairi exclaimed, latching onto his arm. Then she remembered Axel, and glared at him, while Axel, completely harmless Axel, just glared back.

"Roxas, what is HE doing here?" she demanded. Roxas looked at the two with puzzlement etched on his face until Kairi muttered the word "kidnapper."

"Oh, Kairi, don't worry. You see, Axel is my friend. Don't worry; he's not here to capture you, either!" Roxas exclaimed cheerfully, and Kairi loosened her grip…a little.

"Well, Kairi, all I can say is that I think we started on the wrong foot, so let's try again. Hey, I'm Axel, and I'm Roxas' friend," Axel said and held out his gloved hand. Kairi took it reluctantly before snatching it back, as if Axel would drag her off again.

"Alright, Kairi, take me to Sora," Roxas said, and Kairi led them through a different door in the shack. She opened the door quickly and literally dragged Roxas along while Axel had to jog to keep up with her. They walked on a path that led behind the waterfall, and it might have been gorgeous, if Roxas wasn't so worried about falling and Axel about keeping up with the terrified girl. They ran past the waterfall, up a ledge, and to a wooden door. Roxas and Axel were out of breath, gasping for air, but Kairi, not tired one bit, just grabbed Roxas' arm again and pulled him inside. Axel decided to wait on this one. He had a feeling it would turn out mushy and personal. Carelessly, he strolled to behind the waterfall, watching a rainbow of colors dance in the falling water.

Kairi pulled Roxas up the stairs into a bedroom where Riku stood over Sora, watching him carefully. At the noise of the door, Riku whirled on the intruders, but calmed down after seeing Kairi. He then looked at Roxas, and then was puzzled.

"Roxas? But you're supposed to be inside-," he started looking at Sora, and then at his Nobody. Roxas, confused as well, just shrugged. Riku then motioned with his hand for Roxas to look at the one he was supposed to be with. It was angering, just to look at his face before Roxas looked back at the wall, trying to push down his anger.

He wasn't mad at Sora, not at all. He just hated the fact that he ever existed just to be non existent once more with no power over what you do at all.

"Is something wrong?" Riku asked, putting a hand on Roxas' shoulder. Roxas jumped in shock at the hand, sighed at himself, and then nodded, forcing a smile.

"I don't know what to do," Roxas remarked, looking down at Sora once more.

"Well, shouldn't you just go back to being a part of him?" Kairi asked. "Maybe he's unconscious because you aren't with him." That remark made Roxas' head blow off its top. He didn't want to be with Sora, but Sora is incomplete without him. His anger being contained no longer, Roxas screamed, holding his head with both hands and looking up at the ceiling. Riku and Kairi backed away a little, unsure of what was going on.

"Why does this have to happen to me?" he yelled, kicking the bed. Kairi ran up to Sora, to make sure he's okay, and then glared at Roxas. Glared at him like he was expected to just fuse with him without any protest.

"Namine," Roxas muttered, looking at Kairi sadly. He wanted to pull his hair out. Suddenly, a ghostly image of a girl walked out of Kairi's body and smiled at Roxas. She wore a plain white dress, and she held one arm with the other, appearing shy.

"Roxas," she replied, still smiling. "Please don't get mad." Those words just calmed Roxas down considerably, and he sighed at himself for being a fool.

"Namine, I was wondering if you knew why I'm apart with Sora, and why all of the Organization members are alive," Roxas stated. Roxas heard Riku protest and Kairi gasp, but he focused on Namine, who looked down at her sandals.

"Well, Roxas, Xemnas' wish came true. Kingdom Hearts revived the Organization, so Xemnas could get more hearts," Namine started. "And since you're a part with it, you're revived as well."

"So, just go into Sora, and then he can defeat Xemnas again!" Kairi exclaimed indifferently. Roxas guessed she believed that he could feel nothing, even if he really did.

"Wait, you shouldn't do that, Roxas," Namine exclaimed. "You see, because Kingdom Hearts revived Xemnas with its power infused in him, light has absolutely no effect against him, so if Sora fought, he couldn't defeat Xemnas." She glanced down at the unconscious Keyblade master, and then back at Roxas. "Roxas, you control the darkness inside Sora," she explained. Roxas widened his eyes slightly, but he somehow knew this. "So all of your power is in darkness, and you can defeat Xemnas and Kingdom Hearts."

Riku intervened just then.

"I control the power of darkness, so why don't I just fight him?" he asked, stepping in between Roxas and Namine. They looked at hi, and then shook their heads amusingly.

"You forgot again, Riku? You gave up the darkness, remember?" Namine explained, and Riku nodded embarrassed, stepping back. Namine turned again to Roxas. "Roxas, only YOU have the power of darkness AND the Keyblade to do this, so don't complete Sora just yet." Roxas, despite all the problems he faced, smiled sincerely. He was going to be himself, even if it was for a little bit. Maybe he could find a way to complete Sora, AND be himself, though he doubted that himself. But what were hopes and dreams made for, anyways? He would try to believe it would happen, even if it was a long shot.

"Um, Namine?" Roxas asked again, his smile fading. "I think I have a heart inside me somewhere, but we Nobodies just can't see or get to it right now. I felt so many things, that I couldn't believe I had no heart because, I really felt. Do you think so too?"

Namine looked down in thought. It WAS a hard thing to grasp onto, but she finally looked up at him.

"You know what, Roxas? I think we do have hearts, too. Maybe we Nobodies just decided to shun out our feelings because were just castaways. But, Roxas, I'm going to try and feel while in Kairi, and I'll figure out where our true hearts are," Namine vowed. She raised her hand to touch Roxas' face, but it just went through his skin. Namine lowered her arm, a downcast look plastered on her face.

"Oh, Namine. I have another question, too. I found pictures in my room and my clothes in a secret passageway, back in the Castle that Never Was. Do you know how they got there?" he asked.

"You really found them, Roxas? I'm so glad! I brought those there before you went into Roxas the first time. I wanted you to always remember that you are someone," she explained.

"What about the clothes?" Roxas asked again.

"Well, that was where Ansem the Wise hid, when he wanted to capture you so he could get revenge," Namine explained. "I remember when I first saw you...I don't think you remember, but you were unconscious. I was sad when you were to just be held so Ansem could get his revenge. I thought you deserved better." Namine sighed, partly in remembering, partly with sadness.

"Well, until we meet again, Roxas," Kairi's Nobody said, and walked back inside her host, who watched the whole time. Roxas smiled inwardly at the thought of having a true heart. He absently touched where his heart would have been, and held it there, wanting to feel like he had a heart forever.

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Mr.Who2123: Yawn, well I should wrap things up…It's already –looks at clock- 2:29 AM?? Holy FUNDOODLE!!!!!!! -Suddenly falls asleep, falling on Roxas-

Roxas: Well, please review! –falls under weight of Mr.Who2123-

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Preview of Chapter 5: The Start of Practice and Hope 

_"Well, all the members of the Organization are dispersed," Axel muttered disgruntled. _

_"Well, then, I guess I should start here, and get every last one of them!" Roxas replied strongly. Axel sighed in resignation. When Roxas made up his mind, he was pretty sure he wouldn't change it soon. _

Mr.Who2123: Hey, guys! I just wanted to say that I want 1, count it, ONE other member of Organization 13(besides Xemnas) to be with Roxas and Axel. In your review, tell me of ONE person in the Organization that you want to be in there, and hopefully, one will have the most and I'll use them, so pick ONE member in your review! (I'm stressing one because I've seen reviews where the people are like, 'Hey, I like Demyx. Oh, but Zexion is awesome too! Oh, there's Marluxia, too…' You get the picture.)

Roxas: Let's hope you even GET reviews…your story isn't doing too well.

-Mr.Who2123 cries while Roxas, the nice person he is, pats her on the back, giving encouragement-


	5. The Start of Practice and Hope

Even a Shred of Heart

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Mr.Who2123: Well, the line works too! (Points up) 

Roxas: Well, we have very SURPRISING results to who is to join the rebels…

Mr.Who2123: Yeah, we actually do, and before I continue…thanks for reviewing people, I wanted to continue writing this because you guys motivated me!

Roxas: Well, we're not going to tell you the winner until the end…when you'll already know

Mr.Who2123: AHHHHHHHH!!! TELL MEEEEE!! –Shakes Roxas madly-

Roxas: No! Must…resist…temptation…to tell!!!!

Mr.Who2123: Well, let the story BEGIN! Oh, one last thing…I've decided to have the pairing RoxasXKairi because of the constant complaints of my brother, and I have some random fluff in here (though it's probably not very good.)

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The Start of Practice and Hope

Roxas turned away from his unconscious counterpart.

"I'm sorry, Riku and Kairi. You're going to have to wait for me a little longer. Just make sure he doesn't get hurt," Roxas remarked, looking down at his shoes. He saw Riku nod strongly from the corner of his eye, but he wasn't sure what Kairi did. Relieved by the confidence of Riku, Roxas looked up at the door standing right in front of him. "I'm going to defeat Xemnas." Roxas stepped towards the door and turned the metal handle, cracking the door open. He took one last look at Sora, filled with sadness.

"I wish I could help him and myself at the same time," he told everyone, and walked through the door. He hurried out of the house, wanting to leave the sight of Sora. Axel waited for him with arms crossed and leaning against the door patiently. When he saw Roxas hurry past him again, he sighed knowingly. Knowing Roxas was sad, he just caught up to him, leaving a moment of silence for his friend before speaking.

"Well, what are we going to do about the evil Kingdom Hearts and Xemnas? I mean, I KNOW were not strong enough," Axel muttered. Roxas sighed, shrugging. _Okay, something is DEFINITELY wrong,_ Axel thought. "C'mon, Roxas, you always have a plan!" Axel exclaimed playfully.

"Axel, can't you see I DON'T KNOW?" he practically burst, stopping in his footsteps. "Can't you just leave me alone?!" Roxas turned away and ran for the beach. Axel reached after him, shocked, but didn't take a step after him.

"Poor kid," Axel muttered, recovering from the outburst, and turned to wander through Destiny Islands.

Roxas sat down on the sand, feeling the shifting, cool water under his shoes. His arms rested on his knees, which were pushed up against his stomach. He sighed, watching the seas sadly and wishing endlessly in his mind. The waters once again started up the beach, reaching his feet again before sliding back into the ocean, like someone trying to escape being pulled back against their will.

"Just like me," he mumbled to himself, and rested his head on his knees as well. Finally, Roxas closed his eyes in weariness, and fell asleep to the sounds of the waves pulling up and down over and over again.

Axel wandered aimlessly through the island, sorting out his thoughts in his head.

"Poor Roxas…I think he's trying to be a hero and just can't take it," Axel muttered, shaking his head sadly. "I wonder what happened when he saw Sora." As he made it to a part of the island with more foliage, he decided to stop and take a rest, both his body and mind. Axel moved his head up to look to the top of a tall palm tree. Its thick, green leaves swayed in the wind, but its tall, thin trunk stood firmly in the ground.

"Perfect," Axel thought out loud and jumped on a ledge nearby, moving to higher ground. The palm tree still stood at least ten feet taller, but Axel, not a normal person, leaped into the air and landed on the leaves. He could see the ocean for miles, and the view was perfect. "Time for a nap," he muttered, thinking Roxas would get him soon.

He never knew how long he rested, but Roxas got a rude awakening.

"You're so heavy!" a high voice muttered as Roxas fluttered his eyes open. He saw he was being dragged, and slowly too. He tried to move his arm, but it was tied smartly, and he couldn't even budge it. Roxas looked around, but it was dark, and he couldn't see his capturer. Roxas began to struggle at the bonds, grunting as he squirmed against the capturer. 'Stop moving!" Roxas blinked at the voice. He knew it from somewhere, but he was so groggy, he couldn't think straight.

"What are you doing?" Roxas said, still trying to get free of the bonds.

"I'm getting Sora back!" the voice replied. _KAIRI!_ His mind shouted at him, and Roxas stopped struggling momentarily.

"Kairi, you can't do that because then Xemnas can't be defeated!" Roxas protested, but she ignored him, still dragging him. Suddenly, he remembered his Keyblade. Silently, the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand, shining momentarily in a bonded hand. He was still being dragged on the floor, so Kairi mustn't have noticed. Swiftly, Roxas turned the blade so it faced the bonds, and sliced them, freeing his hands.

"No!" Kairi yelled as Roxas turned quickly and stood up, holding his blade in hand, and ready to defend himself. "No," Kairi muttered again, and fell on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Roxas watched her, shocked, and not knowing what to do. He let his blade disappear, then, trusting his instincts, walked over to her and knelt down with her. She ignored him, still crying.

Roxas closed his eyes, sighed, and then did what he never did before. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, closing his eyes to not see her expression.

"I promise I will save Sora. You have to trust me okay?" Roxas whispered soothingly in her ear, and Kairi sobbed again, this time on Roxas' shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly, hoping she'd agree with him. "Will you trust me?" He felt her nod on his shoulder, and he let go of her. Kairi lifted her head and wiped her eyes quickly to remove the moisture on her face. For the first time in awhile, Kairi smiled. Roxas stood up and wiped his clothes before putting his hand down to help Kairi up as well. She took it thankfully and lifted herself up.

"I'm sorry, Roxas," Kairi said, looking at Roxas. Roxas just smiled and nodded, and Kairi turned to go. "Come back as soon as possible!" She began to run back to her house while Roxas watched her go, until the darkness allowed him no more sight of her. Roxas sighed happily when she disappeared from sight. _No, snap out of it, Roxas! _He thought after he realized his feelings. Then, he looked around in the black of night.

"Now to find Axel," he muttered, and began to run aimlessly towards his right. After a little time, he began to tread through a more forested area, with palm trees sticking out everywhere. Roxas slowed to a walk and began to look around for a sign of Axel.

"Axel?" Roxas called, though not loudly. "Where are you?" He listened for his friend, but all he could hear were the rustling of the giant leaves of the trees. _How could he possibly disappear at a time like this?_ Roxas thought angrily as his patience was drained from him. He continued to walk slowly through the grove of trees until a small noise suddenly made him freeze.

"Who's there?" he asked sharply, his Keyblade appearing with a flash of light. He heard the noise again. It sounded like a small grunt, like someone was in distress. "Is anyone there?" He heard the noise again and pointed out the sound with his ears. It was coming from the top of a particularly large tree near a ledge. Roxas slowly edged towards the tree, listening for the noise again. It came again, but it sounded different than a normal grunt. Roxas, cautious, jumped onto the ledge and faced the tree. He saw a person on the tree, lying down.

"Hey, are you hurt?" Roxas yelled towards the figure. It seemed to move away and make the noise again, and noticed some red hair. _Wait a second,_ Roxas muttered in his head. He leaped onto the tree and saw Axel asleep on the tree, and snoring as well. Roxas couldn't help but laugh a little before kneeling to wake him up.

"Hey, wake up!" Roxas said, shaking his friend's sleeping body. Axel was sleeping on his side, muttering in his sleep. There was no response except for another loud snore. Roxas rolled his eyes and shook harder. Roxas finally believed he woke Axel up when he turned on his back, but he just kept muttering. What was worse was that there was a small amount of drool hanging from his lips.

Roxas gagged in his mind, and disgusted, kicked Axel in the side.

"Owowow!" Axel howled, snapping his eyes open. He grabbed his kicked side protectively and glared at his attacker.

"Well, I had to do something!" Roxas said and shrugged. "Oh and there's some drool on your mouth." Roxas pointed to below his own mouth to indicate where it was. Axel quickly wiped off the saliva.

"Well, Mr. Solitude, have you decided where to go?" Axel asked sarcastically. He stood up and stretched before casually putting an arm on his waist.

"Well, we need to defeat all of the Organization members," Roxas stated. "There are eleven members that we need to defeat to get them out of the way." Axel was about to reply when he noticed a figure and immediately summoned his wheels. Roxas whirled around to see a familiar figure: a member of the Organization.

"Could you, uh, make that ten members?" a voice suggested behind them.

"Hey, what are YOU doing here?" Roxas demanded, his Keyblade appearing in his hand. The Organization member behind them stuck out his hands defensively, and waved them, proving his harmless nature. The person had his hood over his face, hiding it from the two rebel members. Roxas slowly lowered his blade, though he still was ready for anything. The member finally pushed back his black hood, revealing a friendlier face than the two thought: Demyx.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm not here to fight you. I just wanted to say that I want to join you guys. I mean, Xemnas is acting all cuckoo since we all came back, and he doesn't want to make us whole anymore," Demyx replied, twirling his finger by his head while saying 'cuckoo'. Roxas still held his blade out cautiously, but Axel let his own wheels disappear. "Oh, you still don't trust me, huh? Well, lookey here. I wanted to get you something to change your mind, Roxas. Now, just hold out your hand like you would to summon your Keyblade." Roxas did what Demyx told him, and a light came into his hand again. Instead of the Kingdom Key, a different blade was in his hand.

It was royal blue, and it slowly faded to a dark black at the tip. It was thin, and the chain was golden, contrasting beautifully with the actual key. Roxas stared wide-eyed at the Keyblade, earning an amused chuckle from Axel behind him.

"Wow, thanks!" Roxas exclaimed, ignoring Axel. Demyx smiled.

"Now, that blade is really important. You see, it makes your element WAY stronger, like, mine is water, so I'd be super powerful in water attacks if I had that blade. Now, since you're darkness, you would be super powerful in darker attacks," Demyx explained.

"What is it called?" Roxas asked as the blade disappeared from his grasp.

"It's called the Wandering Protector," Demyx said. Then, as if remembering something, he took out a strange charm, too. It was white, and it looked like reflecting waves crashing and curling to the side of the charm. In the middle was a diamond shaped ruby, shining with a powerful light. Roxas grasped the charm delicately as if it might break, and looked back up at Demyx

"Lookey what else I got!" Demyx exclaimed theatrically, but Axel just rolled his eyes at the fake act. "I think Xemnas really wanted to give that to you, 'cuz you could kill more Heartless. But since you left, he kept it." Roxas grinned at the small charm and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks, Demyx. You did a lot of stuff just for me…why?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Well, I didn't think you'd just let me in your little rebel group, so I had to go to some extent of danger to help you gain my trust," Demyx explained.

"Well, then Demyx, welcome aboard!" Axel exclaimed happily, clasping him on the back. Demyx smiled with him.

"I really missed you dudes. Larky just bugs me all the time and the other members are creepy," Demyx said. Axel laughed the remark.

"Well, Xaldin IS pretty creepy. He looks half-beast!" Axel agreed, and the two laughed at the many oddities of the Organization as Roxas thought of his next destination.

"Hey, Demyx. Do you know what's going on at the Organization?" Roxas asked in their merriment. Demyx was bent over, laughing incredibly hard at the statement about Marluxia's pink hair, but gained semi-control when he heard the question. Demyx straightened out his Organization robe, chuckling, and scratched the side of his head in thought.

"Well, I know that all the members were spread out to different worlds so they could capture you and kill Axel. I don't really know where they are, though," Demyx explained.

"Wow, that makes our job SO much easier," Axel muttered sarcastically.

"C'mon, don't be that down. We can just warp to the different worlds and look. It shouldn't be that hard. There are only ten members anyways," Roxas replied, ever optimistically.

"Yeah, Axel. Be happy like Roxas!" Demyx added. "He's always smiling and you're always frowning! C'mon, smile!" Demyx moved lithely behind Axel and shoved the corners of his mouth upwards to form a hideous smile. Axel hit Demyx away with his arm, fuming at the bold gesture.

"Don't you touch my mouth, you piece of…," he warned, threat filling his words. Demyx lifted his hands protectively, wincing at his long time acquaintance.

"Whoa, whoa! Can't you take a joke?" Demyx asked defensively, cowering at his threat. Axel, getting angrier, punched his clenched fist into his other hand, walking slowly closer.

"Hey, guys, cut it out!" Roxas exclaimed angry at BOTH of them now, and stepped in between the two, holding out his hands. Axel grunted in defeat, turning to the side. He folded his arms stubbornly, glaring at Demyx.

"Whew, thanks Roxi. I was sure Axel would kill me this time," Demyx sighed, eyeing the threats of Axel's evil glares.

"Please don't call me Roxi," Roxas muttered, putting his hand over his eyes, sighing at his friends and the stupidity of the argument itself. "I thought we should go to Twilight Town first."

"Sure, that's fine by me," Demyx answered gleefully.

"I don't know. That place gives me the bad memories of you fighting me and forgetting who you and I were," Axel said.

"Aw c'mon, Axel. You're never this down all the time! We can make new and better memories there!" Roxas grinned a little and Axel gave in, returning the smile.

"You sure do know how to convince people," Axel muttered. He then cleared his voice to speak louder. "Alright, Roxas, lead the way!" Roxas nodded and held his hand on front of him, stretched out to the beach far off. He closed his eyes and focused on a spot, the usual spot. He imagined Hayner, Pence, and Olette together, laughing and eating their ice cream. Roxas was filled with sweet memories as the black portal slowly appeared in front of him, swirling in an ellipse. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the black. With a nod to Axel, and then his new acquaintance, the three entered the portal together.

* * *

Hayner sighed in disbelief. Disbelief at the wasted time of the precious weekend. His eyes were closed and his eaten ice cream stick hung loosely from his tight mouth. One leg was stretched up against him and his arm laid lazily on it, and his other leg dangled from the seat which he sat on. 

"This weekend stinks! We have absolutely nothing to do!" Hayner shouted for what seemed the billionth time. Pence winced at the words while eating his ice cream, constantly giving worried glances over to Olette.

"Well, maybe we could go to the beach! We haven't made one attempt to go this whole year!" Olette suggested. She noticed a wet drop of the ice cream falling coolly down her hand, and licked it as well.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea!" Pence exclaimed, finishing his treat. Hayner opened one eye, watching the happy faces of his friends before opening his other.

"Sure, why not!" Hayner agreed. "That money we made from all our jobs should do it." Olette thrust her arm in the air gleefully, and Pence nodded happily, thinking aloud the things that they could do while there. Suddenly, black surrounded the whole right side of the brick wall, stopping the three from their trip.

"What the-," Hayner muttered. He inched a little closer to the portal, his heart beating faster as he moved nearer to the strange entity. Suddenly, a spiky haired blonde kid walked out, shaking his head in dislike. Next cam out the kidnapper of Kairi, which made Hayner jump back angrily. Not caring of the last intruder, the three glared at Axel.

"What are YOU doing here?" Hayner asked Axel, sounding like he had a murderous intent. Olette backed against the wall in fright, and Pence to the corner.

"Whoa! Can't you give a better welcome than that?" Axel asked, half humorously, though none took the joke.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas shouted, running up next to his best friend. "How has it been? You know, school and all that stuff?" Hayner just stared strangely at Roxas, intimidated by the friendly remark.

"Who are you?" Pence asked meekly. Roxas, hurt by the remarks, looked down at his shoes.

"You don't know who I am?" Roxas asked softly.

"We've never seen you in our life," Olette stated sadly, and Roxas turned away in grief.

* * *

Mr.Who2123: Well, time to end it right there. Now, about my choice. You, my voters, made a FIVE way tie. You heard me…FIVE way! Now, I like all of your choices, I really did, and it took me a whole day to choose who I chose. I chose Demyx because A) I can see him in that group B) He wasn't killed by Roxas or Axel(Many choices, like Zexion, were killed by Axel, so it would be weird if they joined.) C) Because I wanted a laugh out of this story! D 

Roxas: And Mr.Who2123 thanks all the people who reviewed and asks you to continue to do so!

Mr.who2123: Yup! Oh, and tell me about your thoughts on the 'hug.' Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else for Roxas to do to calm her down…

* * *

Preview of: Chapter 6 Friends are Strangers

_"Hey, you remind us of Sora!" Pence exclaimed after his inspection of Roxas. Roxas' face brghtened in response and a smile tugged on his lips. "Yeah, Sora made us feel like we forgot someone long ago!" Roxas realized his remark and his smile grew wider._

_"Everyone, you were all my best friends before I became a part of Sora," Roxas explained, feeling his memories as he spoke in the very place he loved._

_"Wait, INSIDE of Sora?"_


	6. Friends are Strangers

Even a Shred of Heart

* * *

Mr.Who2123: Well, here we go again. I'm not sure to write from here, actually, so I'm going to wing it.(I always think it's good to tell the truth...even if it might scare the readers.) 

Roxas: So basically you don't really care what happens?

Mr.Who2123: NONONONONONONONO!!!! I always care, but winging it usually makes the story better.

Roxas: SUUUURRREEEE...Oh, and she doesn't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts!

Mr.Who2123: True.

* * *

Friends Are Strangers

"...You really don't remember, huh?" Roxas said softly. His back was against the ones he had so many good memories with; the ones he cared so much about. Pence looked hurt, watching Roxas.

"Hey, c'mon, cheer up! Maybe you've got the wrong people?" Pennce suggested hpefully. He stepped to Roxas and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Roxas looked at, and slowly turned around.

"No, I don't. I'm looking for you three; Hayner, Pence, and Olette," Roxas replied gloomily. Axel looked after his friend with some sympathy and walked next to him.

"Sorry Roxas. We don't exist, remember?" he said cheeringly, though his words cut to Roxas deeply. Abruptly, Roxas turned away from all of his friends and dashed out of the usual spot.

"Wait, Roxas?" Olette called, taking a step after him. Hayner stopped her with his hand and looked back at Axel.

"What are you doing here?" he asked threatingly, clenching his fists. Axel mocked a look of surprise and put his hands up harmlessly.

"Woah, woah, woah! You don't get it! Roxas took us here, and I'm not here to do anything!" Axel explained hastily, but Hayner was too stubborn to take the remark.

"Oh, really? then why did you take Kairi last time?" Hayner asked darkly.

"Well, I've got a good reason for that, it's...," Axel started. "Well, that's a good question."

"Axel Grease here just wanted Roxas to come back," Demyx explained cheerfully. Axel turned back, aggrivated, to argue against the nickname, but was stopped by the questions of Olette.

"What do you mean by that?" Olette asked, glancing back where Roxas ran.

"Why don't you figure that out yourselves?" Axel asked back, and started heading for the exit.

* * *

"I don't exist," Roxas thought out loud for what seemed the billionth time. The whistle of the train sounded behind him, and the waves in front. The Central Station was busy as always, just like he remembered. 

"Why does this have to happen to me?" Roxas yelled, desperately angry and sad at the same time. He slammed his fist on the wall of the station building, making his hand ache, though it didn't compare to the ache inside of him. "I just want to...exist. Is that too much for me to have?" He looked almost hopefully to the dusky sky, but then looked back down, shaking his head as if in dry humor and closing his eyes sadly. He held his head down and his fist against the wall, refusing to look up at the voices calling his name.

"Roxas! Where are you?" Olette shouted from afar. _Just leave,_ he told her in his thoughts, sighing sadly. The calls still echoed as they looked for him, but Roxas, hidden in the crowd of passersby, stayed hidden.

"Olette, give Roxie some time, man. I mean, I'd feel bad if my best friends didn't know who I was," Demyx said sympathetically.

"Demyx, you don't feel at all!" Axel replied back.

"It's not like YOU do either!" Demyx shouted back. Roxas almost laughed in his sadness and smiled. _So I probably don't have one either, but I really feel. Maybe I'm just imagining it,_ Roxas thought, and his lifted his blonde head. _I'm living in an illusion of what I desperately want to be!!_ Roxas took his arm off of the wall where he had hit it, and just stared at it.

"I don't even know what to think anymore," Roxas muttered, putting his hand on his face.

"Roxas, come back!" Pence shouted. Roxas turned his head to the direction of his voice and looked at the path longingly.

* * *

"So, Axel, why are you here?" Hayner asked Demyx suspiciously back at the spot. He and Demyx gave up the search and waited for the rest of the group to come back. 

"Well, you see, there is this Organization of dudes trying to get Kingdom Hearts so they can be whole. Roxas, Greasy, and I were in it, but the leader is kinda cuckoo so we left to go defeat him and save the worlds," Demyx explained briefly. "We're called Nobodies because we're just shells of people with no heart and soul at all. It's kinda creepy when you think about it likke that."

"So, you guys basically don't even feel sad?" Hayner asked again, this time with a little sympathy.

"Well, Roxie thinks he can feel, but I dunno. I know I can't really feel 'cuz I don't really care, and I dunno about Axel Grease...," Demyx thought out loud. Hayner smirked at the nicknames.

* * *

"You know we still don't trust you," Pence warned while walking through the sandlot. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I'm not here to kidnap anyone," Axel replied, sounding proud. Pence just gave Axel a warning glare, not that it was threatening, and Olette nodded.

"Hey, what are you doing in our spot?" an arrogant voice yelled from across the lot. Seifer stood there with his Struggle weapon, poised for battle. Pence and Olette glared at him, but Axel smirked inwardly and just walked by the kid. Seifer fumed and spun around, pointing his weapon at Axel.

"Hey, you've already crossed the line! Get ready to take a beating!" he yelled, but Axel nearly laughed at the remark.

"You want to play? That's fine by me!" Axel replied excitedly, spun around, and his wheels appeared in his hands with a burst of flame. Pence and Olette giggled at the paling Seifer as he took a step back. "What's wrong? Am I that scary?" Axel asked, carelessly spinning his weapons in his practiced hands. Seifer growled at Axel and gripped his Struggle weapon.

"You're going to eat your words, you loser!" Seifer yelled and charged at the entertained Axel. The Nobody easily spun away from the thrust and sliced at the weapon. The wheels cut right through the weapon like a hot knife through butter, and the blade slid off of the handle, clanking uselessly on the floor.

"Am I?" Axel asked sarcastically, and began to walk away without glancing back, happy with his deed. Pence and Olette ran after him before turning to look at the pitiful Seifer watching after them without a word.

"Axel, that was so cool!" Pence exclaimed as the two slowed to a walk far ahead. Axel proudly folded his arms and closed his eyes while walking.

"That kid was nothing," Axel replied, trying to humble himself in the shower of comments, and opened his eyes to look at the kids.

"Seifer has been making a lot of trouble lately, though. Someone had to make him know his place," Olette stated.

"Well, let's just focus on Roxas," Axel said, and turned to the market street.

"Roxas?" Olette called through the busy street. Axel watched the crowds keenly, trying to pick out his friend. Soon, after fruitless search, Pence stopped and looked down at the ground sadly. Axel stopped and looked back at him.

"What if he took the train to leave? He could be miles away now," Pence muttered, looking back up at Roxas' friend.

"Then let's hurry to the station!" he exclaimed, and dashed for the station while Olette followed, but Pence turned to the other direction and ran for the usual spot.

* * *

Roxas watched a group of people rush out the door of the station, separating quickly in the new open space. 

"Roxas, please answer!!" yelled the higher voice of Olette. Roxas stubbornly ignored, holding his head in his hands.

"You can't do anything if you're sulking, so just answer!!" Axel yelled. Roxas turned his head and got up from the stone ledge he sat on. _Of course Axel is here to set me straight, _Roxas thought gloomily and headed towards the voices of his friends. Just as he opened his mouth to call out to them, a hand grabbed at his shoulder from behind. Roxas whirled on the person and noticed the black robe of an Organization member. He looked up quickly to see Marluxia holding him.

"What are YOU doing here?" Roxas asked as he jumped away from the member.

"I'm just here to follow my orders: Either convince you to come back or eliminate you," Marluxia explained calmly. He snapped his fingers and Roxas prepared for something to happen. He clenched his fists and waited, but nothing happened. In fact, it was quieter than before. Roxas looked around himself and widened his eyes at the sight. Everyone who was around him had stopped moving and stood completely motionless, frozen in time. Axel and Olette were among those stuck as well, and Roxas noticed them frozen in a running position.

"What's going on, Marluxia?" Roxas asked again and held out his hand. The Wandering Protector appeared in his right hand, glimmering in the light that had summoned it. Marluxia looked at the blade with amazed humor.

"So you managed to take that from Xemnas?" Marluxia more said than asked. Roxas just stared at him, poised for battle. "So there isn't any way to change your mind? Fine, then. I didn't want to kill my own kind, but it looks like I have no choice." Marluxia held out both arms in front of him, and a large scythe appeared in his hands. In a sudden flash, Marluxia was clashing his weapon with Roxas' Keyblade.

_Wow, he's fast. I better stay alert,_ Roxas thought as he released some strong blows at Marluxia, who blocked them with ease. Roxas thrust his blade to the left, and Marluxia jumped away with ease.

"C'mon, can't you hit any slower?" Marluxia teased sarcastically as Roxas vainly thrust his Keyblade at him again and again. Then, Roxas feigned a slice, but moved it quickly under him and moved the blade up, clashing with Marluxia's chin and making a sickening crack. The Organization member fell back to the stone floor touching his chin. Marluxia slowly got up, using his scythe as a suport, and glaring at Roxas all the while. Blood dripped from his mouth and he moved his jaw back into place with another crack.

"You'll pay for that, you little brat!" Marluxia roared and charged at Roxas with blinding speed. Roxas luckily lifted his blade in time to barely parry the blow, but was not so lucky when Marluxia spun around to attack again. His scythe ripped at Roxas' shoulder and blood began to well in the cut. Roxas growled in pain and held his wound while trying to fend off the many blows of Marluxia, who sneered at the worsening situation for Roxas. He hacked at Roxas, which Roxas unsuccessfully dodged, and the blade sliced at his stomach. Blood began to appear, and Roxas, basking in his pain, was unable to fend the other blows. Marluxia cut at his legs, tripping Roxas, and then at his neck. Roxas gasped on the floor, trying to breathe for air with a ripped lung.

Marluxia, a couple feet away, began slowly walking to the wounded rebel with a smirk planted on his face. In moments, he was kicking the defenseless and dying Roxas, who screamed in pain.

"Oh, it hurts, doesn't it?" Marluxia sneered evily, laughing at the pain. "This is why you should never oppose the Organization!" Marluxia gripped his scythe, and, with his smirk still on his face, thrust his blade down towards Roxas.

Deep in Roxas' pocket, the white charm gingled and began to glow. A red light surrounded Roxas, covering him with warmth and blocking away all the pain he had felt. He sighed dreamily in it, and began to feel power surging through him. The light grew brighter and brighter, until...

Valor Form.

Roxas felt himself move wothout thinking, and clashed his Keyblades against Marluxia's scythe.

"But...how?" Marluxia stuttered, jumping away from Roxas. The small charm gingled, as if in response to the question, around his neck, glowing with a red light. The Kingdom Key glowed in his hand along with the Wandering Protector in the other. In the next instant, Roxas sped towards Marluxia, clashing with him. Power surged around the two as they each pushed against each other with their weapons locked. Marluxia shook at the trembling power, but Roxas was perfectly calm.

"I shouldn't oppose the Organization, huh?" Roxas whispered into the scared Marluxia's ear, and jumped away from the combat. Roxas quickly jumped away from Marluxia's sight before he could see, and Marluxia was alone. A couple moments passed, but there was nothing but the sound of wind. Dark covered Marluxia, and, confused, looked around himself. It was a shadow. Marluxia looked up, but not quick enough. He tried to lift his scythe to block the ariel attack, but Roxas swept it away like it was nothing with his Kingdom Key. The other blade, the Wandering Protector, was thrust into the defenseless Nobody's stomach, protruding from his back. Blood covered both of the Nobodies, but it was only the blood of Marluxia.

"Oh, it hurts, doesn't it? Don't worry, it'll all be over soon!" Roxas exclaimed darkly, and thrust his Wandering Protector into Marluxia's neck. Blood gushed all over the floor, drenching the two.

"Pai...n...," Marluxia gasped, and his eyes dimmed. He fell to the floor, bathing in his own blood. Roxas unmercifully pulled the bloody blade out, and reverted back to his normal form unknowingly. The blood disappeared, along with the Kingdom Key, and the clatter of people began to sound again. Marluxia still lay down there, dead, though no one seemed to notice. Time had started again, Roxas noticed, as a couple people bumped shoulders with him in hurry.

"Roxas! Wait up!" Axel screamed, and Roxas turned around to see him and Olette bounding towards him. The two met, and Axel folded his arms.

"Will you explain WHY you just left?" he asked angrily. Roxas looked down, confused from all the action, and fell down against the ledge. He held his head in his hands, but it didn't stop the world from spinning in his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, but I needed some time to think," Roxas replied softly, letting his head go.

"Are you alright, Roxas? You look really pale," Olette remarked, and knelt by Roxas. She placed a hand on his aching head, feeling the warmth of it. "You feel okay, but you don't LOOK okay." Roxas merely pointed to the dead body of Marluxia, and the two looked there. Axel widened his eyes even larger, but Olette just looked there with suspicion.

"You...killed him?" Axel exclaimed in surprise and ran to the body.

"I don't see anything," Olette said, and Roxas looked at her.

"Really? Because there's one right in front of you," Axel replied, watching the body turn to black dust as it began to fade.

"No, I don't see anything," she replied, suspicious of the two. "What's going on, anyways?" Roxas sighed into his hands.

"I killed a member of the Organization, but...you can't see him for some reason," Roxas replied, sighing yet again.

"Good riddance," Axel muttered, and the last of the body dispersed into the air. Roxas watched the body sadly, remembering the pain of his own self as he stabbed into his neck, and hearing the dying words of his ex-comrade. He shivered in disgust, and Olette noticed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, feeling his cold arm, which he slapped away.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all," he said. Olette smiled reassuringly.

"For some reason, i feel like I know you, Roxas," she remarked, and Roxas looked back up to her in hope.

"Really?" he asked, smiling, and she nodded.

"Like a friend I haven't seen in a long time," she replied. Roxas jumped off the ledge and started for the usual spot.

"I want to see what everyone else says about me!" he exclaimed, and the two, greatful for Roxas' happiness, bounded after him.

* * *

Mr.Who2123: MWAHAHA! You would never expect to see that coming from our cute little Roxas, would you? -Hugs Roxas- 

Roxas: Ack! Well, please review!

Mr.Who2123: By the way, the fight scene was inspired by Knights of Cydonia by Muse!

Roxas: Really? That song is about futuristic cowboys, though...

Mr.Who2123: Umm, I can explain!!

Roxas: Suuuurre...

Mr.Who2123: Oh, and if you noticed, I didn't get to the preview part of last chapter, and I don't have ANY idea what to write for next chapter, so I can't do previews!!! Sorry!!!!

Roxas: You are so untrustworthy...you can't even do previews!

Mr.Who2123: I'm sorry... -shrivels into the corner- Oh, and I'm not updating until I get 5, you heard me, FIVE reviews! You guys review when I did the voting thing, but now you don't...please make my day and review!! Thanks!


	7. Relaxation

Even a Shred of Heart

* * *

Mr.Who2123: On a dark and stormy night, I sat with my pencil in hand and notebook in the other. Cautiously, I placed my headphones on and turned on the CD player. I felt the music come on. It was Anerlin, my favorite band. Suddenly, ideas came to my head and I wrote three pages of inspiration for this story. It was wicked!! I am out of my writer's block!!! 

Roxas: What kind of writer are you anyways?

Mr.Who2123: Um, one who gets a lot of inspiration from music?

Roxas: Okayyy...well, she doesn't own anything related to Kingdom Hearts. Actually, she doesn't own anything associated with videogames at all.

Mr.Who2123: Very true.

* * *

Relaxation

"...so he actually managed to defeat Marluxia?" asked Xemnas in his black robe, surrounded by eight others wearing the same attire.

"Yeah. Roxas might actually become powerful enough to defeat us," Xigbar added, watching for the expression of the leader's face. Xemnas smiled slightly, folding his arms.

"As long as we hold his power, he won't be able to go any farther," Xemnas replied deviously, his grin growing wider.

"You mean you-," Larxene exclaimed, surprised. Her eyes were wide as she leaned forward from the right to look at their leader. Xemnas lifted his hand, and a small item appeared in it with the flash of a black light. Larxene gasped at it. "I can't believe it!"

* * *

Roxas walked in front of the group, excited to unlock the memories of his friends, but the bloody battle with Marluxia kept sneaking into his mind, making him feel the stickiness of the blood all over him and the pain of killing someone...someone just like him: a Nobody. Olette watched Roxas, wanting to help him desperately, but didn't know how at all. 

"So, Roxas, what do you remember asbout being with us?" she asked, trying to rip his mind off of his worries. The question brought Roxas into a flood of memories as his eyes lit up, and he looked at Olette with a small smile.

"Well, the biggest thing I remember is winning the Struggle tournament. I was against Hayner, and I won...he was mad at me because I had a lot on my mind. Then, I fought Vivi," Roxas explained. He looked at Axel briefly, reminiscing on the moment that he came to intervene. Deciding not to add the comment on Axel, Roxas continued. "Then I fought Setzer, the Struggle Champion. I eventually won, too!" Olette smiled at Roxas. She could almost feel the time, but she couldn't remember it at all.

"Wow, I really feel that this happened, but I can't remember," Olette remarked, staring at the floor in deep thought. Roxas smiled at the reassuring comment and the three found themselves back at the usual spot after the coversation.

"Hey, you managed to drag Roxie back!" Demyx explained gleefully, standing up from his seat. Roxas smiled wearily at him as Demyx placed his arm around Roxas' shoulders. "You shouldn't scare us like that, you know. Sometimes bad things happen to us, and we can't do a single thing at all, so stop sulking and let's get going!" Demyx lectured, and received only a groan from Roxas. Axel was behind Roxas, trying to get Demyx to stop talking by making a slashing motion with his neck. Unluckily, Demyx got it AFTER the lecture, and immediately separated with Roxas. He stepped back to get the latest from Axel, listening intently.

"You idiot! He just killed Marluxia, and he's a little tired, so leave him alone," Axel whispered angrily, pointing at Roxas the whole time.

"Well, Axel Grease, you should've told me that earlier!" Demyx exclaimed back, folding his arms in stubbornness. Roxas shook his head humorously at his comapnions; it was no secret that he was sad, but apparently they took it like one.

"Hey, guys, wouldn't Xemnas just send all of the members to kill me than just one?" Roxas asked more to himself than to his comrades. Demyx nodded while Roxas talked and Axel scratched his head in puzzlement.

"That IS true, you know. I guess Xemnas is dumber than I thought," Demyx agreed.

"I think YOU'RE the dumb one, Demyx. It's obvious that Xemnas is just toying with Roxas!" Axel retorted. Demyx moved his arm slightly as if to retaliate phsysically, but stopped himself.

"Hey, it's not that obvious! Roxie didn't say anything about that!" Demyx yelled back, pointing to Roxas when he was referred.

"Yeah, well I bet Roxas already knew!" Axel yelled back. His hands vibrated violently as he clenched his fist. The two continued their ridiculous argument, while Roxas absently sat on a sofa, ignoring the conflict.

"But why would he just toy with me?" Roxas asked softly to himself. The mysteries of Xemnas' plans were tugging at his mind, forcing himself into questions. Hayner, Pence, and Olette wandered over to Roxas, also backing away from the dumb conflict, though Roxas was too deep into thought to notice the trio. He finally noticed them when Pence sat down next to Roxas. The bed grudgingly lowered from the added weight of Pence and Roxas looked up, surprised from the presence of his friends.

"Hey guys," Roxas said happily, shrugging off his surprised expression and forcing a small smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Pence asked casually. He sounded like he had known Roxas for years, although everyone knew that wasn't truly the case.

"Well, I guess a lot of stuff," Roxas replied, falling back into a state of thought. Hayner sighed disapprovingly and sat himself on the arm of the chair. Olette did the same on the other side.

"Well, I thoink you should stop worrying so much," Hayner replied. Roxas looked up at Hayner, then Pence, and finally Olette.

"I guess," Roxas said. Hayner stood up and looked over at Axel and Demyx.

"...I know that I sleep with a teddy bear, but you still cry over stuff! Only babies cry!" Axel screamed. Apparently, the argument had gotten out of hand. Roxas couldn't help but laugh with everyone at the statement.

"I don't cry! I just get stuff in my eyes a lot!" Demyx screamed back. The two were so close to each other that their noses almost touched. Their faces were both cherry red, and their fists clenched so hard that their knuckles shown white underneath their gloves.

"Sensitive eyes? That is the LAMEST excuse I've ever heard!" Axel yelled. _I'd better stop them before they beat the crap out of each other,_ Roxas thought, still smiling. He stepped in between the two and stuck out his arms, pushing the fighting Nobodies away from each other.

"You guys need to cool it," Roxas exclaimed, looking at the two sharply. "Man, I feel like you mother." Roxas knew he said the wrong thing right when he said it. Immediately, Roxas was nearly blown away by a million and one arguments about his comment.

"Hey, you have no right to interfere with our conversation, so back off," Axel replied angrily. Roxas slapped his face with he hand and ran it down slowly.

"Conversation? More like a yelling contest to me," Roxas said. Demyx sighed.

"Roxie, you are my man! You save me too many times from that red haired beast!" Demyx exclaimed, hiding behind Roxas while pointing to the fuming Axel. Roxas had to chuckle from the 'red haired beast' comment. After Roxas finally managed to keep himself from smiling, he continued.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Axel, cool it. Demyx, stop calling me Roxie, please," Roxas said, glaring at both of them. Axel folded his arms stubbornly, but Demyx gave in with a sigh.

"Well he started it by being a-," Axel began, trying to defend his position as best as he could. Howver, the weary glare of his friend silenced him. "Fine, whatever."

"You guys get mad really easily!" Hayner remarked, walking up to them with Pence and Olette behind. Axel frowned at him, but didn't dare reply.

"Hey, why don't you guys go do something? I mean, you guys haven't been together, so why don't you have some fun while Axel Grease and I wander around?" Demyx suggested happily. He slung an arm around Axel's shoulder, who picked it up and flung it away in disgust as if the hand were garbage. Roxas looked to the three.

"That sounds fine to me," Roxas replied. "Is that alright with you?"

"Of course, you're our best friend!" Pence answered happily. Hayner looked at Pence in surprise.

"...we are?" he asked. Pence nodded back to him.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if we really were together, but it feels like I really am your best friend," Olette added. Roxas couldn't help but smile wide.

"Alright, let's go!" Hayner announced, and the four ran off. Axel looked back at them sadly.

"Poor kid," he sighed. "Roxas has only been led to despair his whole life, but somehow he always has something to hope for." Shaking his head gloomily, Axel headed for the town. Demyx followed him casually, though he thought deeply of Axel's words.

* * *

"Where should we go?" Roxas asked casually as they strolled through the Marketplace. 

"Um, why don't we go to the beach?" Pence asked. Crowds of people passed by them without a glance; the day was as busy as ever.

"That sounds like fun!" Olette exclaimed, grinning.

"Fine by me!" Pence added.

"The only broblem is the munny. We need 4,800 Munny to pay for the tickets and have 300 left over for each of us," Roxas explained. He remembered the cost from the summer vacation.

"Wow, that was fast thinking!" Hayner exclaimed, looking at Roxas with some awe. Roxas, humbled byt he compliment, just scratched his head meekly.

"Well, when I was with you, we were about to go to the beach, and I remembered the cost," Roxas said.

"Well then, how much munny do we have now?" Hayner asked. Roxas reached into his pocket for the muuny pouch. If he was correct...

"I have 5,000 Munny right here," he said, and pulled out a pouch. It wasn't the same one Olette, it was plain.

"Wow, where'd you get the munny?" Pence asked as Roxas handed the pouch to Hayner.

"Well, the Organization always had lots of munny for some reason, so the Organization always made sure that every member had 5,00 with them all the time just in case," Roxas noticed the guilty looks on his friends faces and quickly added. "Don't worry, the munny doesn't mean anything to me. It's alright!" Hayner nodded reluctantly, and the four ran off for the station.

"Four students please," Hayner told the attendant, and held four fingers up to indicate the number. The attendant quickly turned away and began printing the tickets while Hayner pulled out some Munny and gave it to her. Roxas waited outside, watching the open ocean and feeling the salty air. The crashing waves helped drag away the anxiety of his journey yet to come. He wanted so badly to stay here with his friends, but he knew he was needed by everyone.

"Hey, Roxas, the train is going to leave! C'mon!" Pence shouted from the steps of the station. Roxas turned around quickly and ran for the station. Inside, the train whistled impatiently for passengers to board. It's high pitched scream rang in everyone's ears as they hurried inside a red and gold train. Inside, rows of cushioned red sofas lined the walls, filled with many people who held the same destination in mind as the four friends. Roxas walked slowly the the lines of people, edgin carefully in between as not to disturb any of the passengers. Finally, Roxas found empty space next to Pence and sat down, relieved of his weariness.

"How long is the ride?" Roxas asked as the train whistle blew again. The wheels lurched forward witrh a sudden push, shaking the passengers slightly, before slowling down again. Then, the tracks moved faster once again, this time smoothly, until the train was speeding over the metal tracks that directed its course.

"About half an hour. You could go to sleep, you know," Pence replied. Roxas, accepting the suggestion, closed his eyes slowly. The sound of wheels on track melded with all the other sounds into a dim buzz, and soon, his mind was wandering in the land of dreams.

* * *

"Are you sure?" a feminine voice asked in the silent black. Was he dreaming? Roxas wearily opened his eyes, but he couldn't see a thing. "Are you sure about it?" Roxas found himself already standing, so he stepped around to feel for a floor. His foot hit the ground, but it made no noise at all, even when he banged it as hard as he could. 

"Who's there?" he asked meekly in the darkness. "And where are you?" The voice seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"Are you sure?" she asked once more.

"Sure about what?" Roxas asked again. His assertiveness grew again, and he began to stumble around, looking for the girl.

"Sure about you," she replied softly. The voice came from behind, and Roxas whirled on the voice. But behind him, there was only empty darkness.

"What do you mean 'sure about myself'?' I know I'm me," Roxas stated blindly.

"Sometimes, people forget who they really are, and they grow in their lies. But when they do, they lose their true potential," she explained, sighing sadly. Roxas looked down at his shoes. He knew she meant what he feels, not who he is as in his name. Roxas looked up again and saw her. Her black hair curved perfectly around her head and covered part of her right eye. She wore a plain grey jacket similar to Roxas' and blue jeans. She wore a thin bracelet on her hand with a black heart charm on it.

"I don't think I've forgotten," Roxas shrugged, smiling a little.

"So you're not sure," she said more than asked. Roxas didn't reply. He was confused; entangled in his questions.

"Why are you here?" Roxas asked, and waited for a reply. The girl just watche dhim with sharp eyes. "What's going on, Fiara?" Roxas gasped at himself. _Since when did I know her name?_

Fiara giggled slightly, though Roxas didn't notice it much.

"So, do you think you've forgotten?" she asked, her smile gone from her face.

"I guess I have," Roxas replied, still confused.

* * *

Mr.Who2123: Cliffie!! Yay!! 

Roxas: No, Mr.Who, that's BAD!

Mr.Who2123: Hm? Why?

Roxas: Because the readers will slaughter you if the cliffie is left off for too long.

Mr.Who2123: How long is too long?

Roxas: Two days.

Mr.Who2123: HOLY CRAP! (Begins typing furiously)

Roxas: Well, please review!

Mr.Who2123: Yes, please, and thank you!


	8. The Fun Cut Short

Even a Shred of Heart

Mr.Who2123: We're on chapter 8! Yay!

Roxas: What's so great about chapter 8?

Mr.Who2123: Because it's bigger than 7!

Roxas: (Sweat drop) Um, why do I hang out with you?

Mr.Who2123: Blackmail.

Roxas: Oh yeah…now I remember…(shudders) Well, Mr.Who2123 doesn't own anything related to Kingdom Hearts or Square Enix, except for the plot and her OC's of course.

Mr.Who2123: This is so great!

We're on chapter 8! Rhymes!!!

Roxas: (Smacks face) Why must the world be so cruel to me??

Mr.Who2123: Begin!!

* * *

The Fun Cut Short

"…up. Wake up!" a voice called. It seemed far off and soft, like someone whispering to him a mile away. Roxas reluctantly opened his eyes. Light burst into his sight as he looked around. The walls were wood, and red couches were on the sides of room. He was still on the train, apparently, but it had stopped. Had it already been a half an hour?

Roxas stretched his arms far above his head and yawned loudly.

"It's about time you got up," Hayner teased from Roxas' right. Roxas just glanced tiredly at him before lowering his arms again.

"So what's going on?" Roxas asked. He pushed himself into a more upright position to fully take view of his surroundings. Olette and Pence were to his left, while Hayner on his right.

"The train just stopped at the beach, silly!" Olette said happily. _Must have been more tired than I thought,_ Roxas thought, nodding to Olette. A voice came from speakers abruptly.

"Attention passengers! We have made it to the Twilight Beach. Please exit in door marked 'exit' in the front car. Thank you and have a nice day," the voice, obviously a conductor, said. At once, all the passengers stood up, anxious to get to their destination of fun. Roxas didn't stand up with his friends, but they watched everyone clear out, not wanting to get involved in the large crowd. The people bunched at the door by the friends for a few minutes, until the very last one left through the door, smiling at the sight of the beach in front of him. Roxas stood up as the crowds dispersed in the open space outside the train, and the four ran through the train door.

Outside, the sun shone brightly, high in the blue sky. Seagulls made their song as they occasionally flew above the beach in flocks, resembling a black cloud in the clear sky. Roxas breathed in the salty air and closed his eyes momentarily as he stepped out of the train, relieved. Waves crashed against the moss covered rocks, adding harmony to the seagulls. The sound of the beach was peace for him.

"It feels good to be out here," Olette said, also taking in the beautiful scene. Everyone immediately agreed. "C'mon, let's go!" Olette took Roxas' hand in her own and bounded down to the beach, with Pence and Hayner following her. She headed down a dirt trail, sloping downwards, straight to the large rocks that hung above the ocean that crashed against it. Olette eventually let her grasp of Roxas' hand go, and took off her shoes to feel the cool and slippery surface of the giant rocks. Roxas, shrugging to himself, took his off as well.

"Wow, this feels awesome!" Pence remarked, feeling the rock with his newly bared feet. He placed his shoes next to Olette and Roxas' while Hayner was taking his off too. Olette led Roxas to the very edge of the rock, suspended above the mighty ocean, and sat down, letting her feet dangle. Roxas sat down with her, watching the foamy waves continue to crash against the rock.

"Too bad we didn't bring our bathing suits," Hayner muttered, joining the two. Pence also sat down next to Roxas, shrugging.

"It's alright. What matters is the time we spend together," Roxas replied happily. His memory of Hayner and him talking in front of the station flashed through his mind. He absently felt his stomach where Hayner playfully punched him so long ago.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Olette said, still watching the horizon with intent. "Wow, it's so pretty." She gazed out at the sea as if in a trance, her green eyes fixed on the ripples.

"Yeah," was all Hayner said, while gazing in the same direction as Olette.

"I don't ever want to leave this spot," Roxas said softly. The four didn't move, but they just watched the horizon, content with what they all had right there. "You know, it's weird being with you guys. It's like nothing changed since I disappeared from this town." Pence turned to look at Roxas, breaking the still silence they were in.

"Yeah, well, it feels like we've known you forever," Pence replied, smiling reassuringly. Suddenly, everyone heard a low grumbling come from Roxas. Everyone turned their heads to Roxas as he looked down at his stomach, sighing.

"Looks like you're hungry," Hayner remarked happily, standing up. "Let's get us some of those pretzels." He held his hand out to Roxas, who took it thankfully. He heaved himself up and then helped Olette to her feet as well.

The four left their shoes in the same spot while they headed bare foot to the small pretzel stand down the beach.

"I want to get a cinnamon one! They are so good!" Olette exclaimed as they walked down the beach. The fine sand parted and fell at every step the foursome took, leaving footprints across the ocean. It wasn't a crowded day at the beach, so the group was mainly left alone. They would sometimes see a child building a sand castle while the mom keenly watched them from a distance, or groups of men running towards the waves to surf. It was so happily peaceful.

"I just like it plain. No salt, no cinnamon, no nothing," Hayner replied.

"Salted is fine for me," Roxas stated. Pence agreed with Roxas. After a small debate over which is better, the group found themselves at the stand, watching a middle aged man turn pretzels in a heated glass box. He had a kindly face with a black mustache, and there was sparse gray in it as well.

"Excuse, could I have a cinnamon pretzel?" Olette asked from the counter. The old man nodded and took out a pretzel that looked especially brown with the cinnamon. Olette took it and gave him the 300 Munny with a smile.

"I'd like a plain," Hayner asked, and paid the man when he got his as well.

"We'd like two salted," Pence asked after Hayner. Roxas and Pence both go their pretzels, and the man got his 600.

"Want to go back to the rocks?" Hayner asked through a mouthful of a pretzel. He ate it wolfishly while the other three took slow bites and chewed thoughtfully.

"Well, yeah, that might be nice because our SHOES are there," Pence said sarcastically as they headed back, retracing their old footprints. When the small sand began to fade out to the rocks that they sat on, the group saw the sun setting right in front of them.

The water turned to a dark violet-red in response to the reddening sky, and the sun itself looked like it was dimming as it dropped ever slowly down the water. The four ate in respected silence, watching the breathtaking scene with awe. Soon, the red and pink began to fade out, and the sun dipped under the ocean for its slumber until it rises again. The water turned from violet to black in minutes, and everyone found themselves in the dark.

"Wow," Pence muttered, and murmurs of agreement spread around them. They all still gazed out at the horizon, amazed by the momentary beauty of a real sunset. Roxas finished his pretzel awhile ago, and held the wrapper loosely by his side, fiddling with the thin paper covering.

"Should we go?" Hayner asked quietly in the dark.

"Yeah, Axel and Demyx might start worrying about us," Roxas said, and they all stood up to leave. Hayner, Pence, and Olette turned to get their shoes, but Roxas lingered, watching blindly at the horizon, barely seeing the thin line that separated the sky from the water. Suddenly, the line began to bend. Roxas squinted at the horizon, which moved upwards quickly. White crashed all around the rising water, and Roxas felt his stomach churn.

"What's going on?" he asked loudly, taking a step back.

"Roxas, it's a tidal wave!" Hayner shouted from the safety of the dirt trail. Roxas then heard the roaring sound of the foamy waves coming after him like Roxas was prey and the wave was the predator. He turned to run, but the sound still grew louder, engulfing his ears with the monstrous noise.

"Roxas!" Olette cried, running down back the trail. Roxas reached after her, although he knew he couldn't reach her. Olette was fifty feet away, and Roxas knew the wave was much closer than that. Then, Roxas found himself stopping, and facing the wave. He knew he couldn't beat it, so he guessed he'll just have to accept it. He closed his eyes from the stinging spray of the wave and sighed.

"What are you doing?" Pence screamed at the Nobody. Roxas tried to ignore it. The wave was mere feet away, and was still heading towards him with blinding speed…and then it hit him. Roxas didn't feel a thing at first, but soon, he was swept off his feet and lifted into the water, spinning in the fierce water. The cold waters bit at his skin as Roxas flew aimlessly around in the ocean. He felt his chest burning with the lack of oxygen. _What_ was he thinking? Facing a _tidal wave_? Roxas said hat over and over in his head until he felt consciousness slipping away silently.

* * *

"I guess I have forgotten a little," Roxas said, still confused. Fiara still held her smile, a small, yet reassuring smile, like Olette's.

"Listen, Roxas. You know Xemnas is trying to take Kingdom Hearts?" she asked. Roxas, weary of her knowledge, made a skeptical reply.

"And what if I do?" he asked dangerously.

"Well, Roxas, I am a Nobody," Fiara said, touching her chest with sadness. "And, just like you, I want a heart. Badly." Roxas felt for her. Hey, they were both after the same thing, right?

"The only way to opening Kingdom Hearts is to open the seven locks, each one representing the princesses of heart. When done, Kingdom Hearts will be free and no one can take control of it again," she explained. Roxas looked down at his hand. _Free…,_ he thought, before looking up at her again. Her hand was playing with her bracelet, but she still held her small smile.

"Alright, where are the Keyblades?" he asked.

"Each Organization member has one, and each _member_ is scattered in the different worlds," she said. _Man, this is a lot of information to take in_, Roxas thought wearily.

"Thanks, Fiara," he said, then. "How did I know your name?" Fiara's smile disappeared, and her hands fell limply to her sides.

"I am a part of someone you know," she replied quickly. Suddenly, light surrounded his feet as he felt himself dragged down. She stole one glance at Roxas, but took it away, as if in regret. "don't worry, we'll meet again." Light surrounded Roxas, and Fiara faded into the tiny darkness still left in his sight.

* * *

Mr.Who2123: Woot! Finally got it DOWN! I'm liking this chapter major!

Roxas: Um, okay?

Mr.Who2123: For those who didn't know, the end of this chapter was after what happened at the end of _last _chapter. Hope I wasn't too confusing. Well, same old, same old. Please review because they inspire me to write!!

Roxas: Pretend you save me from a day of torture if you review.

Mr.Who2123: why don't we do that for REAL so that they will review? (Pulls out a giant axe)

Roxas: (Gulp) Please review!


	9. Darkness

Even a Shred of Heart

-.-.-.-.-

Mr.Who2123: Here's chapter nine…

Roxas: We're going straight to the Disclaimers? Wow, that's a change.

Mr.Who2123: I know…maybe I'm not in the mood to slaughter you, but, if you want, I can still do it. (Pulls out a giant axe.)

Roxas: No, no, it's…okay…

Mr.Who2123: Okay! Well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything associated with it.

Roxas: Begin!!

-.-.-.-.-.-

Darkness

The sound of rushing water was all around Roxas, draining any other possible noise. His body was numb, and freezing. _Am I alive?_ He wondered, half opening his eyes. Water was raging all around him, dragging Roxas to wherever the water went. Roxas moved his fingers to make sure they were okay. They opened and closed weakly, to Roxas' relief. Slowly, Roxas head from the water. His feet went lower into the water and his arms moved to keep himself floating.

Roxas' eyes searched for land. He was close to a beach, and behind the beach was…_Twilight Town!!_ Roxas noticed. The buildings shone orange against the always sunset sky. The Nobody began to swim towards the beach. His body moved languidly from his cuts, but Roxas moved at a constant pace, never stopping. The beach seemed to move closer as Roxas sped up his pace. He breathed heavily, his arms alternating their strokes, and his feet kicking relentlessly.

Finally, the floor of the ocean came up to Roxas as he moved closer to the land, and Roxas was able to get his footing in the water. The beach was only a couple yards away, and Roxas sighed happily through his hard breathing. He rested his hands on his knees as Roxas began to catch his breath. His body burned from the work out plus all of his cuts. Roxas soon continued his trek despite his fatigue.

The beach was completely empty of people, even the lifeguards had vanished.

"Hello?" Roxas called weakly to the deserted beach. Even if he could stand, Roxas knew his conscious would blow anytime. Already, Roxas felt desperately tired, but he continued looking. Eventually, Roxas noticed a sign.

"The train station? Someone has to be in there," Roxas said to himself as he walked through the gates. However, it was the same as the beach, deserted.

"Hello?" Roxas called to the emptiness. _Where is everyone?_ Roxas thought frantically. Even the train wasn't there.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice called. Roxas nearly jumped out of his skin from the sudden noise. He whirled on the person to find a brunette haired girl about seventeen years old staring at him. She played with a silver bracelet with a white heart on it. Roxas sighed, breathing out all of his fear.

"You nearly made me have a heart attack," Roxas said. The girl smiled shyly. "Do you know where everyone is?"

"I heard there's commotion in the town, so everyone is over there," she replied. Roxas looked over her again. She reminded him of someone…but whom? _Not Namine… _

"Thanks. My name is Roxas, what's yours?" he asked.

"My name is Farina," she replied. _Fiara! This is Fiara's other half!_ Roxas remembered. Farina stared at Roxas' new expression with curiosity. "Is something wrong?" Roxas shook himself out of his discovery.

"No, it's nothing. You just look like someone I know," he replied quickly. "Anyways, what's the easiest way to get to the town?" Farina thought for a moment.

"Go along the railroad tracks. That should be the most direct route," she replied, pointing to them silver parallel tracks. Roxas nodded and began to run towards them.

_Fiara said that I would already know the person she was part of. I just met Fiara…I mean Farina. Man, these names are going to drive me nuts,_ he thought, jogging down the tracks. The town came closer than he thought. He was downtown before he knew it, and it was as empty as the beach.

"What's going on?" Roxas wondered. He scanned the area quickly, but there was not a sight or sound. "Hello?" His voice echoed across the town, but no answer. Roxas rushed through the plaza, his fear building with each step he took. As he ran towards the market street, he heard a crash in the sandlot. Immediately, he turned to the right towards the sandlot. While running as fast as he can, Roxas heard the crashing again and again. The noise grew in intensity, and so did the beat of his heart as he made it closer and closer to the strange event.

As Roxas turned sharply around a corner, the sandlot was visible in front of him. There were people all on the outskirts of the sandlot. Roxas looked at one younger man close to him. His face was of deep fear at something in the middle. Roxas stopped at him.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked. The man's eyes darted to him, then quickly back, as if he were afraid of Roxas.

"Black monster…in the middle," he stuttered back. Roxas tried to urge more questions, but the man went into shock. The Nobody sighed. _Must be scary,_ he thought, looking towards the middle. He couldn't decipher the monsters in the middle, though he assumed it was probably some stray heartless. He ran towards the middle, summoning his Wandering Protector as he got close.

Roxas was right. There was a herd of tiny Heartless crawling around. Roxas thrust his Keyblade at them, and they all disappeared in a stroke. The people around him cheered, and Roxas sighed in exasperation. _Worked up over a couple Heartless like that._ Suddenly, the cheering turned into screaming. _What now?_ Roxas turned to the middle of the sandlot.

A giant black hole spread across the sandlot. It soared across the ground to the very edge, where all the people were. Suddenly, darkness tugged at Roxas' legs, making him sink to the ground.

"What the-," he yelled, trying to free himself of the shadowy portal. All around him, Roxas saw the people in the sandlot scream or faint, and fall down to be sucked inside the darkness. "No!" Roxas managed to get one foot free from the darkness, and pulled the other one out with more ease. With a light foot, he dashed across the darkness and landed in safe, solid ground. However, the Twilight inhabitants disappeared completely. Roxas was alone.

"What's going on?" he asked himself, edging closer to the pooling darkness.

**What's** **born in darkness ends in darkness,** a voice boomed across the lot. Roxas' heart skipped a beat. _What?_ He edged even closer to the darkness and felt it lightly with the toe of his shoe. The darkness then began to retract back into the center of the sandlot. With much caution, Roxas walked slowly closer to the bundling darkness. The darkness shifted, and then rose out of the ground. Roxas took a couple steps back in fear.

The black of darkness molded itself like clay, forming different shapes, until a human-shaped figure became apparent. Two white, glittering eyes stared down Roxas, and a black scarf covered the darkness's neck.

"What is that thing?" Roxas nearly yelled, and jumped away from a fist. It crashed into the floor, and Heartless came up from the pool of darkness the hand made. Roxas ran towards the giant Heartless and jumped onto its arm. Hr then dashed up the shoulder and slashed at the face with a downward thrust. The force of his slash helped him flip and then sliced again, this time, horizontally. The giant Heartless emitted a strange moan for a cry, and took its arm out of the ground, which had a huge crack. It stood up, and Roxas lost his balance in the air, and started to fall. He took notice of the Heartless' arms and landed on the left. He stumbled as the Heartless thrashed its arms, but Roxas stayed on.

The Heartless let out another cry, and Shadow Heartless came out of the ground by the large one. The small enemies crawled up the arm and surrounded Roxas. He blocked a slice of claws, and retaliated with a felling blow. More Shadows kept coming, and overwhelmed the Nobody.

Roxas stumbled again, but fell this time, onto the ground. He rolled across the floor, and ended up on his back with his head turned to one of the giant Heartless' feet. Then, he looked up. The thousands of teeming Shadows disappeared back inside of the giant one. The energy of the Shadows gathered at one hand. The hand swelled with black energy, swirling madly with power. It pulled back until it was beside the Heartless' face, like a spring. Then the spring let itself go.

The powerful hand zoomed straight for Roxas, who tried to get up and dodge the blow. Halfway to his feet, Roxas stopped. The powerful hand was not far, and was still coming closer. He lifted one of his Keyblades for defense, although he knew it would do nothing.

Mind racing, heart pounding, Roxas felt his Valor Charm. _Please work! _Roxas squinted his eyes shut. The hand was merely feet away. He waited for the blow…

Energy burst all around Roxas, but none hit him. He found himself with two Keyblades and a shield around himself. Thank goodness. Roxas let out a sigh. Then, he set to work on the giant Heartless with its hand stuck into the ground next to him. The Heartless was faced downwards, to the buried hand, with its belly facing the ground. Roxas dashed under the belly and sliced at it with an upward motion. He made an 'X' mark with his blades, and the Heartless was sent flying into the air.

Then, with his energy, he threw his Keyblades below him while he was in the air. The Keyblades stayed below Roxas and didn't fall. Then they began to revolve in a circular motion. They increased dramatically in momentum as Roxas came back down. He dropped below the Keyblades and lifted both hands into the air. A small white beam sped up to the Keyblades. As they revolved, the beam went straight into the middle, and stopped between the spinning Keyblades. Then, energy came from the Keyblades, increasing the beam in power. The energy became larger and larger, while Roxas waited for the perfect moment. The Heartless was beginning its downward journey to the ground again. The giant, defenseless Heartless fell at an amazing fast speed, and when it was close to the Keyblades, Roxas jumped up again.

The energy was huge, and Roxas went right below it. The Keyblades returned to him in a flash, and Roxas hit the suspended energy with a strong thrust. It zoomed up, straight for the Heartless. Roxas came back down to the sandlot and reverted back to his normal form. He wouldn't need it anymore. The energy and Heartless came closer and closer, and Roxas covered his eyes in advance.

With the collision, there was an ear deafening boom that sounded all across the town. Roxas covered one ear and looked down. The white energy expanded and consumed the Heartless easily with all the power it had. Then, it suddenly exploded, making white sparks fly everywhere across the dusky sky.

The scene would have been beautiful, if a giant black Heartless wasn't about to fall on top of you. Roxas rolled out of the way just as the Heartless crashed to the floor. Dust flew everywhere, completely clouding Roxas' vision. He covered his eyes, while coughing out dust. It felt like his lungs were being tied into knots. After what seemed like hours, the dust cleared, and Roxas slowly breathed normally again. The Heartless was on its back, though it wasn't dead. Its arms and legs were twisted grotesquely, and one arm even looked like it could fall off. Even if it was a black, evil creature, Roxas couldn't help but feel the pain for the dying monster.

He edged closer to the face of it, and saw the scarf torn and falling apart. The white eyes stared right at Roxas with pure hate. Roxas stumbled backward from the look, shocked at the emotion the Heartless seemed to have. Suddenly, one of the hands twitched, though Roxas didn't notice. The broken hand, bent backwards, moved around violently, and grabbed Roxas. Darkness consumed him, until everything was black.

**Born…End…Darkness…**

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Mr.Who2123: Heh, I know, confusing and evil chapter.

Roxas: Wow that was…darkness filled!

Mr.Who2123: (sweat drop) Eh, yeah, it was.

Roxas: Well, please review! Pretty Pretty Please??


	10. Explanations and Fights

Mr.Who2123: Okay, I've just gotten out of my writer's block…again, and am on my way to explaining everything that happened.

Roxas: Took you long enough.

Mr.Who2123: I know…oh, and I own nothing related to Kingdom Hearts…except my ideas for this story.

Roxas: BEGIN!!

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Demyx was laying on one of the old couches, snoring. The four kids were off doing something fun, and he decided to get some beauty sleep.

"Demyx?" Axel whispered, standing next to his sleeping friend. However, Demyx was fast asleep, and didn't hear him. Then, the flame wielder smiled deviously. "Time for some good old-fashioned tricks to get a laugh out of myself." First, Axel grabbed a feather on the floor. It was a long, dark brown feather, and curved lightly to the side as it moved up. _Perfect, _he thought, smiling at it.

Next in Axel's plan, he needed something gross and squishy. The red haired Nobody happened to chance a glance of a bottle of super glue. He rubbed his hands together and swiped the bottle up with a hand. Axel then snuck up to the sleeping Demyx, who was sleeping on his back. His right hand dangled off of the edge of the couch, and the other was on his stomach. A small wet line of drool fell from his mouth, and down his chin.

Axel snickered at the sight, and knelt down next to the dangling hand. He moved it so the palm was facing upwards, and then squeezed the glue out of the bottle and onto it. The white substance fell all over his gloved hand, until it was almost completely white and sticky. Then, Axel grabbed the brown feather he found. With practiced strokes, Axel brushed the feather across his nose, back and forth until Demyx grimaced.

Still asleep, the Nobody automatically lifted his glued hand, and tried itching his tickled nose. Axel started snickering when it got stuck, and Demyx woke up.

"Wha- why is my hand on my face?" he groaned, and tried moving it off. However it was in vain and Axel laughed quite a bit louder.

"My hand is stuck to my face!!!!!" Demyx screamed jumping out of the couch. He tried prying it off with his other hand, but it got sticky as well. Now Demyx was left with both hands on his face, and his voice was muffled due to the hands covering it.

"Mfffffffffff!!!!" Demyx shrieked, running in circles. Axel was on the floor, pounding his fists on the dirt floor. He felt like his sides would burst from so much laughing. Sudden footsteps immediately ended the fun fiasco, and Axel turned to the entryway of the hideout. Hayner, Pence, and Olette appeared from the left, and were panting heavily.

"Axel! Roxas got…consumed by a…tidal wave!" Pence yelled. Axel raised one eyebrow and looked at the boy as if he was crazy.

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked in return, confused.

"It's true! I don't know how, but he disappeared!!" Olette shouted as well. Axel thought for a moment, still very puzzled, and then noticed something black down by the sandlot.

"Stay here, kids. Demyx and I are going to check to see what that is," Axel said calmly, pointing to it. The kids nodded, and the two Nobodies made their way through the town to the sandlot. While running, Axel burned away all of the glue so Demyx was back to normal. As they approached the lot, Demyx made his sitar appear, while Axel did the same with his wheels.

Then the two found out what the giant black thing was. A giant Heartless stood over them, still suffering from the wounds Roxas had given it earlier. It was bent over and swaying as if it was breathing heavily.

"What is that Greasie?" Demyx asked, taking a step back.

"It's a really big Heartless. C'mon Demyx, we can take it," Axel replied, definitely more confident, and threw a spiked wheel at the thing. It took the blow with full force, and took a step back. Then, the Heartless aimed a punch at Demyx. The Nobody jumped away just in time, and then summoned water clones. The figures simultaneously attacked it, by banging their water sitars on it. The Heartless easily swiped them away with a fist, and tried another punch, except towards Axel.

Axel rolled away from the humongous fist, and threw a wheel above the Heartless. Then, it suddenly stopped above its head, yet it was still spinning fast. Then, Axel chucked his other one at the Heartless' feet. It stopped right next to one, and spun in its place like the last.

Axel smirked and jumped onto the Heartless' arm. It tried punching the clever Nobody, but he was too fast. He jumped from the shoulder onto its head, higher and higher, until it was on the top. The Heartless shook its head madly, trying to shake off Axel. Axel had to kneel down on one knee and hold onto the Heartless to not fall off. After a moment of calming himself, Axel jumped into the air, above the spinning wheel, and shot a flame at it. The wheel took the fire, and spun faster and faster, until it was only a blur. Fire surrounded the wheel, blazing intensely.

Then, the wheel shot a blast of fire, ten times the power of Axel's, right to the one below the Heartless. The monster roared as it was caught in a huge vortex of fire.

Demyx watched the spectacle with wide eyes. _How come I can't do a cool move like that? _He wondered sadly. After a couple minutes of blazing fire crisping the Heartless, the wheels stopped spinning. Then, they flew over to Axel, who was still in the air, and the Nobody caught them. Axel landed on the Heartless' head once again, breathing heavily from the strong attack.

The Heartless swayed forward, nearly dead, ready to fall. Axel jumped off of the head, and landed safely next to Demyx. The Heartless landed with a huge crash, yet somehow didn't wreck any buildings nearby. Then, it disintegrated slowly, with wisps of black floating into the air.

"Well, that was easy!" Axel exclaimed proudly, letting his weapons disappear. Demyx let his sitar disappear in a flash as well, and they stood there, watching the Heartless fade.

"But, Greasie, why was it here? I mean, didn't Heartless go away after Xemnas died?" Demyx asked. Axel just scratched his head.

"I'm not sure, Demyx," he replied.

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Roxas woke up slowly, still confused of what had happened earlier. Everything had been so crazy for him; a giant wave, a giant Heartless appearing, Fiara and the Keyblades he needs to get. All of it was just scrambled in his head. There was no rhyme or reason for anything that had happened. Roxas knew that the Heartless left after Xemnas died, and a big one just randomly appears in a town. Someone must have gotten control of the Heartless. Could it be Maleficent? She had retired as an evil witch though, and lives peacefully in the Castle of Hollow Bastion.

Roxas just groaned painfully and stood up. He'd think about it later when he wasn't in such a mess. The Nobody looked around. It was completely black, just like the place where he'd seen Fiara when he was asleep. Roxas sighed.

"Why am I always in dark places? Can't an evil place be on a tropical island or something?" he sighed, walking aimlessly. He couldn't even see the floor, much less, where he was going.

While shuffling himself forward, Roxas noticed a door. It was tall and bright blue, standing in the middle of darkness. Roxas ran for the tall door, getting even more confused. _Now there's a giant random door. Great, this makes things a lot more clear,_ Roxas thought sarcastically. When he made it to the door, he slowed to a stop. Roxas tried to open it, but the door was locked, unmoving. Roxas, unable to think of anything else to do, grabbed his Keyblade in a flash of light. Then, he pointed it at the lock, and a thin beam of light went straight into the keyhole. Roxas heard the lock click, and he put his Keyblade down. With no lock, the door slowly went ajar, and Roxas promptly opened it.

However, inside was an army of Heartless. He just unlocked the door that Riku, Sora, and Mickey had tried so hard to close forever. Roxas had to jump out of the way as Heartless burst from the door, and into the black of everything else. They didn't even care to fight Roxas as they were just glad to be free.

"What have I done?" the Nobody moaned, falling back against the door. The Heartless were all gone, and he closed the door, relocking it. He slowly fell down the door until he was sitting, with his Keyblade next to him.

"Good job, Number 13," a cold voice said behind him. Roxas whirled on the voice, and was face to face with Xemnas himself. The man was in his black and white robes, and his arms were crossed.

"So it was _you_ who summoned that big Heartless and took me here to open this door, am I right?" Roxas yelled furiously. The ex-Organization member immediately stood up, with his Wandering Protector in his hand. His fist tightly clenched the handle, shaking with anger.

"Yes, I used my new power to have that wave bring you to Twilight Town, and to summon the giant Heartless so it could bring you into this darkness. Like I planned you have freed all the Heartless. Now you have to kill them all or the worlds will never be at peace," Xemnas said, smirking. "And when you have, Kingdom Hearts will be complete once again." Roxas' rage built as he glared at the one who used to be his Superior.

"I'll kill you!" Roxas screamed, and slashed at Xemnas. However, he jumped away and let his light sabers appear in his hands. They seemed to shoot out of his long sleeves as his hand couldn't be seen.

"Face it Number 13, you were made to serve me! We are after the same thing," Xemnas said in his unusually calm voice. Roxas didn't hesitate to attack him, though, and sent a vertical slice towards him. Xemnas jumped away lithely, and floated above him.

"Shut up! You want Kingdom Hearts for yourself only, and you will kill anyone who gets in your way!" Roxas shouted back, and leapt up towards his ex-Superior. Their blades clashed in a spark of light, and Roxas kept trying to get a hit on Xemnas. They fought in the air, Roxas attacking as hard as he could, while Xemnas easily blocked them, smiling deviously the whole time. Xemnas ducked from a horizontal slice, and sliced Roxas. He yelled in pain, and fell to the floor where he clutched his stomach in pain.

"We are not that different. As I'd kill anyone in my way, you killed one of my members who got in your way," Xemnas replied. He lowered himself to the floor, standing tall above Roxas. The younger Nobody got up on his knees with his Keyblade right in front of him.

"Even if you kill me again, Kingdom Hearts is now on my side. There's no chance for you," Xemnas said. He withdrew his light sabers and held a hand out to Roxas. Roxas thought over the situation he was in. _Is Xemnas really right? _He wondered, glancing at the gloved hand close by. Roxas slowly lifted his hand up to his ex-Superior's, almost scared to accept the hand.

Roxas suddenly summoned his Keyblade and slashed the hand of Xemnas'. He grunted in pain and jumped away.

"You can't accept the truth that you can't win," Xemnas said, redrawing his blades. "We have the same ideals of regaining our hearts."

"No," Roxas said softly back. He stood up, his head looking down at his Keyblade. Then his voice got considerably louder the more he talked. "We're not the same! I only killed Marluxia because he would kill me if he had a chance!" He then dashed for Xemnas as fast as he could. Xemnas, with one wounded arm, lifted his other to block as Roxas thrust his blade upon him. There were flashes of sparks as the two each tried to overpower the other with their blades.

Xemnas' eyes widened when Roxas' clothes turned to red in a flash of light.

"Valor form?" he wondered out loud. With the Kingdom Key in Roxas' other hand, he slashed at Xemnas' open stomach. The Organization leader was forced to jump away once again and withdraw his blades. With his good hand covering his wound, and the other hanging limply, Xemnas was defenseless.

"You win this time Number 13," he muttered, and disappeared into a portal of darkness. Somehow, his voice rang throughout the darkness even though he wasn't there. "But you will lose in the end." Roxas stared in the direction Xemnas just was, as if he were still there.

Suddenly, there was an immense light on the floor, brighter than any light ever before. Roxas returned back to his normal form and covered his eyes with his arms. The light below him grew and grew until feet were in it. Slowly, he was sinking down into the light. Roxas kept trying to look down and see the light that was dragging him below, but when he was only down to about his waist, he gave up; the light was too powerful.

As minutes passed by in blinding light, Roxas felt himself change from moving down, to up again. Was he going back in the dark place? As the light died down again, Roxas dared to look around.

He was sitting down in the middle of the sandlot, with hundreds of other people. He instantly recognized them as the people caught in the darkness during the battle with the big Heartless, and sighed in relief.

"Roxas!" he heard behind him. Axel, Demyx, Pence, Hayner, and Olette were all behind him, running as fast as they could towards him.

"Roxie's okay!!" Demyx shouted especially loud, and everyone laughed. Roxas didn't have enough energy to even care, and just stood up. Instantly he was surrounded by his worried friends, sabotaging him in millions of questions.

"What happened after the wave?"

"Did you know there was this BIG Heartless thing?"

"You look hurt!"

"Did you fight someone?"

"Why are all these people here?"

"Did you know Greasie tortured me while you were gone?"

"One at a time!!" Roxas yelled over everyone. His friends died down slowly, and waited for Roxas to answer the questions. "Okay, I somehow made it into Twilight Town after the wave got me, yes I fought the big Heartless, and it won, I'm hurt because I just fought Xemnas and the big Heartless, these people are here because the big Heartless thing dragged them into darkness and now they're back, and no I didn't know Axel tortured you."

Everyone stared at Roxas, taking in the quickly relayed information.

"We should get some rest," Pence blurted, and put his hands behind his head. With everyone nodding in agreement, the group started heading for the usual spot.

"Hey, can I see if my house is here?" Roxas asked along the way. Immediately, the Nobody turned right towards the larger houses of the town. "I lived in a big apartment building," he explained. They passed the candy and accessory shop, and Roxas remembered good times with the owners. Sighing, he turned his head back to his destination, and slowed at a building.

"Roxas," Olette said suddenly. "This is an abandoned building. No one has been in it for years."

"Well then more room for us!" Axel answered, and opened the door. Roxas smiled and entered the building with everyone else.

Inside was a big living room with a couple couches in the middle.

"Sweet! This could be our new hideout!" Hayner shouted. He threw himself on a couch, and put his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, it's much nicer, and no one even knows much about this place anymore," Pence said as well, examining the other things in the room. There were drawers with nothing in them and empty photo frames.

"I remembered this place as a big apartment place. My room was up here," Roxas said, pointing to the stairs. "C'mon, follow me." The group walked up the stairs, which made creaking noises as is it was complaining against the visitors. Once they made it up the stairs, there was a long, thin hallway which led right.

Instinctively, Roxas followed the stairs, and opened the third door on the left.

"Wow, I guess you did used to live here," Olette remarked. Inside was a small couch, colored light beige, facing towards a small TV. A couple lamps were in corners of the room, and to the left was an area for a kitchen. There was a fridge on the very left, then an oven, a sink, and lastly a stove. They were all matching silver, and pots and pans were carelessly on the counter tops.

"On the door next to the kitchen is a bathroom, and the room right of the living room is my bedroom," Roxas said, and led them into his room. It was pretty small for a bedroom, but it had a nice and cozy feeling to it. There was a bed with red sheets, and an amazing view of lights through the window. On the window was a small pot of pink flowers, flourishing in the sun.

"Wow, I like the place," Axel remarked, nodding approvingly. Everyone agreed, and Roxas smiled.

"Why don't you all pick an apartment room to sleep in for the night?" Roxas suggested. Everyone was obviously tired, and agreed. They all left Roxas to his own apartment room, where he took a log gaze at his rooms.

_It almost feels like I never left this place,_ he thought, sighing happily, and promptly went to bed.

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Mr.Who2123: There, nice and long so that you're entertained!!

Roxas: Yay! I beat up Xemnas!

Mr.Who2123: Well, please review!!!


	11. Forgotten Connections

Mr.Who2123: Well, I read the first book of the Kingdom Hearts 2 comic book, and I immediately skipped to the part where Namine and Roxas talk about how he doesn't exist…it's so touching. (Sniff) Anyways, it kind of inspired me to write this instead of my other story.

Roxas: Whoooo!!

Mr.Who2123: Alright, Disclaimer time…I own nothing related to Square Enix or Disney or Kingdom Hearts.

Roxas: Begin!!

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Roxas lay in his bed, buried under his thick sheets, and with a small smile on his face. He missed his time with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, even if it was only a week; it was still his most treasured time. Well, it was the only time he did anything _ever._ He was a Nobody, and all the things he remembered were about Sora's experiences.

Deep inside the mind of the young Nobody, a faint thought in his mind so small that it didn't bother him, yet it was still there, struggled to understand the strange connection with him and Fiara. He knew he'd met her before, yet he couldn't remember when or how. It was a feeling that you desperately want to remember it, but it's just out of your grasp, so close that you can feel it drifting away from the fingertips of your mind.

Suddenly, the young Nobody woke up, alert and not drowsy at all. His mind then wandered to the possible connection between him and Fiara. Roxas then began mentally piecing his recent memories of Fiara, and even Farina, too, when he just met her.

_Let's see…I talked to Fiara when I was unconscious from that wave. And I met Farina after I was washed up on shore. If Fiara is a Nobody and Farina a regular person, then how do they both exist at the same time? Or maybe I just barely contacted Fiara inside of Farina. _Roxas sighed, frustrated over the fact that there are endless possible answers to this question, and he had no idea which was the right one.

Mind drifting, Roxas became bored of asking himself these questions, and closed his stubborn eyes. Even though he wasn't tired at all, he forced himself to sleep. Soon, his drowsiness overtook his boredom, and Roxas fell asleep.

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Roxas found himself staring right at the one he was just thinking about: Fiara.

"Wha-How'd we get here?" he asked, looking around. It was pitch black all around them, but he could see the fellow Nobody as if she were in pure daylight.

"We are both connected, Roxas. You and me," she explained, a small smile n her face. _Now_ Roxas felt really confused.

"Okay, you are explaining everything right here, right now," he said, and folded his arms stubbornly.

"Roxas, you understand how Namine has the power to mix people's memories, correct?" she asked, and received a curt nod from Roxas. "Some Nobodies have special powers when they come into existence. Namine has her power to mix up memories, and I have a power much like her as well." Roxas nodded, and let his hands drop to his sides.

"I have the power to enter people's minds when they are asleep or unconscious, and I can communicate with their sub consciousness," she explained. All the other Nobody did was nod, not knowing what to say in response.

"I also know you because we talked much before you left Sora. For some reason, all your memory of being inside Sora has disappeared, and all you remember is Sora's memories, and the few memories you've made yourself when you were separate from him," she finished. Roxas hesitated a bit, taking in all the newly relayed information.

"So do you live in Farina, or are you separate from your Somebody?" he asked, remembering the barren train station and the brunette girl.

"I do live inside her," she answered quickly, as if she didn't want to believe it. Then, she suddenly looked around the pitch black area, and a face of slight panic came on her face.

"You're waking up. Roxas, do your best to find the seven Keyblades and unlock the final door to Kingdom Hearts. That way, we can exist!" she yelled, disappearing. Roxas looked around himself, and found the black turning brighter and brighter, from black to a fuzzy mix of colors. It swirled around and around him, until he suddenly…woke up.

Roxas was in bed, sitting up, and confused. The sun was glowing through the window by his bed, and the potted plant on his windowsill thirstily drank in the sunlight. He put a hand on his blonde head, remembering the strange dream conversation telepathic…thing.

"Roxas! Wake up!" a voice yelled from outside the apartment room.

"I'm up!" he called back, and hopped out of bed. Shrugging on his small white jacket, Roxas ran out the door to see everyone up and waiting. Hayner had a disdainful look on his face; his arms were folded across his chest, and he looked away with a frown. Pence and Olette also seemed unusually quiet and gloomy as they stepped down the wooden stairs.

"Are you guys okay?" Roxas asked in the strange silence.

"Well, actually," Pence began, rubbing the back of head. "Demyx and Axel told us you were leaving today."

"We'll really miss you Roxas," Olette added.

"You're our best bud, and we don't want you to leave," Hayner said as well, turning red from the complimenting statement. Roxas was caught off guard from the sincere comments, now desperately wanting to stay.

"I…I'll miss you too," Roxas replied, trying a smile. It turned into a frown as he looked down. A hand gently grabbed Roxas' shoulder, trying to comfort the young Nobody. Roxas looked to see Axel smiling.

"Roxie, have you forgotten that we have magic teleporting powers? We can just appear here if we feel like it," Demyx commented from the other side of him. Roxas smiled and nodded.

Roxas waved to his friends as Axel let go of Roxas' shoulder and turned to create a portal. Suddenly, his vision blurred as tears came to his eyes, and stunned, Roxas quickly wiped them away. Hayner, Pence, and Olette couldn't help but feel extreme empathy, and tried to smile with encouragement as Roxas turned to the portal.

"Bye Roxas!" they all yelled as the darkness began consuming the three former Organization members.

"Bye!!" Roxas yelled back, watching as his friends disappeared under a veil of darkness. Roxas lowered his arm when they were gone, and it was silent as they waited for the portal to make its destination.

"Greasie, where are we going?" Demyx asked spontaneously in the silence. Roxas tried to ignore the darkness seeming to pull him from everywhere, and listened for Axel to answer.

"Well, I had us go to the Land of Dragons because that was one of the first places Sora went, right?" Axel explained, folding his arms. There was no reply to that, as the darkness opened up in front of them to reveal an abundant field in front of them. Roxas walked out of the portal first, eager to get out quickly.

Just as the young Nobody met the fresh air of outside, he found himself with at least ten swords pointed straight at his throat. Roxas slowly looked up to see a tall, yet thickly built man with a beard and small, pug yellow eyes. A hawk was perched on his thick shoulder, and was the apparent leader of the group. Everyone else was behind him, doing as he did.

"State your business and name, rat," he ordered gruffly, inching his blade closer dangerously. Roxas gulped, trying to back away, but his back touched Axel's, who was in the same predicament along with Demyx.

"I'm Roxas, and we're not here to fight you," Roxas explained, lifting his hands in defense.

"I don't believe it. You're spies from the China Imperial Army!" he spat, and, and the blade touched the bare flesh of Roxas' neck. It didn't go far enough to draw blood, but it stung his neck.

"Seriously, what is the China Imperial Army?" Axel asked. The leader hesitated, and then put his sword down. Roxas felt his neck, sighing with relief.

"Stupid rats," he muttered, and turned to his large group of men. "Capture them!" The man disappeared behind the large number of men charging at the three Nobodies. Roxas pulled out his Keyblade, while Axel his wheels, and Demyx his sitar. The youngest Nobody slashed at all the enemies that came for him, ducking from a blade, and striking his legs while he was still down. The enemy toppled over his comrade, and they were both knocked unconscious when both of their helmets banged each other harshly.

Axel sent fire everywhere he could, setting people aflame in an instant. They all screamed in pain, dying painfully. Axel then chucked his wheels at everyone he could see.

Demyx jumped on top of a unusually large enemy's shoulders and played his sitar like no tomorrow. His fingers landed on each string with such a precise ear that only he could master it. Water clones appeared from nowhere and attacked the enemies, most of them whacking with their water sitars. When one clone attacked the man he was standing on, Demyx jumped off and landed safely.

Soon, every enemy was either retreating, unconscious, or dead, and the three Nobodies stood in the midst of it, panting with exertion. Roxas fell onto his behind, letting his Keyblade disappear.

Suddenly, the leader returned with his soldiers behind him, and looking pale from the sight.

"You…you did this?" he exclaimed, thrusting a finger at the tired threesome.

"Duh," Demyx replied, smirking mockingly.

The leader's yellow eyes darted from Nobody to Nobody, scanning their expressions with critical analysis.

_If I fight them, I'll be dead in two seconds, and if I run, they might side with the Imperials…_he thought, thinking over his situation.

Roxas got up, watching the hesitation of the leader. When he spoke, ti caught everyone, including his own men, off guard.

"I am Shan Yu, leader of the Huns. I want you to be a special part of my group," he asked, nodding his head in respect. Demyx frowned.

"You stupid fat man, there's no way-" Demyx began, but Axel covered his mouth, shooting him a death glare.

"If we accept, then we will have a better chance of finding an Organization Member. Remember, Huns raid towns, and we have no idea where the nearest town is, so they'll lead us, and we can ditch later," Axel muttered quickly in his ear. Luckily, Roxas heard it, and turned to Shan Yu.

"We would be delighted, Shan Yu," he replied, bowing in respect. Axel did the same, while Demyx grudgingly lowered his head slightly.

"Great," he said, and turned to the Huns. "To the Imperial City!" The Huns all raised their weapons and shouted, making a huge commotion. And soon, they were all off, heading east to the city.

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Xemnas looked into Kingdom Hearts, watching it swirl with power and beauty. The hole in it was still gaping huge, but the leader was not deterred by this. He then looked down at his hand, which held a glowing object. It was white, and seemed to pulse, giving the thought it was alive. Xemnas smirked deviously at it, letting his hand fall once more by his side.

As long as he had it…Roxas will never defeat him.

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Mr.Who2123: Before you say so, the white glowing thing is NOT a heart. Just so you don't think the answer is all obvious and stuff. Anyways, this story will have some of the various worlds in Kingdom Hearts 2, such as Land of Dragons, but the small little plots of each world will be in a different view…such as for Land of Dragons, it's the Huns perspective. Cool, huh?

Roxas: Please review!!

Mr.Who2123: Yeah, please review. I'm sick, so I don't have much else to do…so make my day please. (Sniff) Pretty please?


	12. The Barbaric Huns

Mr.Who2123: (In song) I'll…make a man…out of yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu!!!

Roxas: (Staring as Mr.Who2123 holds note) Um, why are you singing Mulan?

Mr.Who2123: oooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roxas: (Sweat drop) Um, she doesn't own anything…not with that kind of maturity…

Mr.Who2123: (Face red) oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuu!!!!!

Roxas: Let's…just…start…

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Mulan walked briskly through the Imperial City, doing some extremely…hardcore…shopping! She held a woven basket made by her mother, and Mushu was curled around the back of her neck like always.

"Ooh, go get some of those melons over there, and…ooh, look at that chicken. Mulan, you know I love chicken," the small, thin dragon blabbered. It was unrelenting, but Mulan learned to ignore it. "Oh, what about that spiky thing? I love spiky things…unless I get poked. That one looks like Sora's head!"

Mulan laughed, but fell into the past memory with the Keybearer.

"Mushu, I miss Sora…do you?" she asked, picking up what was actually a pineapple, rather than a 'poky thing.'

"Of course! It was so fun beatin' up bad guys together and saving the world!" Mushu replied cheerily, and to explain his thought, he punched at the air with his tiny claws.

The smile on Mulan's face suddenly turned into a frown as the war horns sounded all over the Imperial City. The cries gave clarity to what was going on.

"The Huns are coming!!"

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Roxas saw the Huns around him become more and more ruthless as they got closer to the Imperial City.

"Roxas!" Shan Yu called, beckoning the young Nobody to walk next to him. After he pushed his way to the front, Shan Yu leaned over.

"I'm willing to share the spoils half and half. I get half, and you get half to split with your two friends," he said, though he didn't seem happy to say it. Obviously, Shan Yu was willing to make a big sacrifice to keep the favor of the three ex-Organization members.

"Don't worry, we're not here for spoils, we just need to find a person in a black cloak, like the ones Axel and Demyx wear," he replied. Money was the last thing on his mind.

"Oh? I'll be sure to tell you if I do," and they abated their conversation there.

Soon, the city was in sight, with all its greatness and glory, and as the Huns would say, with all its wonderful riches. Roxas fell to the rear with Axel and Demyx, who had their weapons already out. The flame master twirled his spiked wheels impatiently as they got closer.

"You know, we're not here to take the riches of other people," Roxas said, noting the excited look on both of their faces. Axel shook his head, smiling.

"Can't wait to scorch these stupid Huns after we're done here," he replied. Demyx nodded rigorously with that note. Roxas chuckled and nodded.

The youngest of the Nobodies let his Wandering Protector appear in his head, glowing just before it materialized.

"ATTACK!" was heard from the front of the mob of Huns, and everyone got ready for a huge battle. As the Huns charged into the city gates, they were met with Imperial soldiers, most armed with cheap armor and a plain, iron sword. The Huns, with stolen, fine armor, had a much better defense. Roxas, instead of fighting, fought through the crowds of insane, fighting men, both Imperial and Huns alike, trying to find any Organization member.

Suddenly, a large, steel blade nearly sliced off Roxas; shoulder until he rolled away, his Keyblade now up. What he saw triggered his memories, or rather, Sora's memories.

"Mulan!" he said, surprised. The woman was caught off guard, first by the Keyblade and next to the mention of her name. Before, only Sora could wield that blade.

"Who are you?" she demanded, also raising her blade.

"I'm not your enemy! I'm a friend of Sora," he explained, trying to end the conversation at once. He had a Nobody to look for, and it would require all his attention. "Sorry, I'm a little busy." He ran from Mulan and the battlefield to a post, where he jumped on top of it. He could see the tops of all the fighters, both Huns and Imperials, and, to him, it seemed the Huns were winning. The young Nobody also noticed Mulan slicing her way through countless Huns, while Mushu blew fire at farther targets. With both close and far range, the two were a perfect pair.

A flying spear caught onto Roxas' shirt, ripping it deeply in the side. _That spear…_ he thought, watching it float back to its owner. His blue eyes came upon the muscled, black haired member; Xaldin. Immediately, Roxas called for Axel and Demyx, who had turned on Shan Yu and the Huns. Just as Axel ducked under an axe swipe, he shot a burst of flame straight at the stomach, knocking the man to the floor, writhing in pain.

The flame wielder ran up to Roxas, who wordlessly pointed to Xaldin. Demyx, not far behind, caught sight of the Number two Organization member as well, and was already tuning his sitar to a deadly song.

"I'm guessing you're after this?" the enemy asked, holding up a golden and red Keyblade. The handle was twisted with the two primary colors, and as you moved up the blade, two decorated dragons were twisting around each other, and had their mouths open as the actually part of the blade. Sharp teeth decorated the end of the blade, which was thicker than the rest, intricately, as if the finest craftsmen of China had made it.

Roxas gripped his handle extra tightly, knowing it was a battle to the death. The battle of the Imperials and Huns was right below them; Roxas was on a roof now to stay level with Xaldin, and his friends were on either side of him.

Suddenly, Xaldin knelt on one knee and punched the floor of the roof, and wind flew all around him. Roxas had to push against the wind that howled and flew towards the spear master, while Axel and Demyx did the same.

And then suddenly, it stopped. Roxas looked back at Xaldin, who was standing on a floor of air that was between the roofs that the enemies stood on. Demyx tried inching towards the floor, and when he felt it was solid, he walked out, smiling.

"Dude, look at this!" he exclaimed, and Roxas and Axel did the same. Xaldin seemed somewhat amused as they each grinned at each other, jumping on the invisible floor suspended above the fighting of the two nations.

"Unlike other members, I choose to have at least some decency in fighting," Xaldin said, narrowing his eyes at Roxas. "However, I require some decency of you. We shall duel. A one on one."

Roxas looked to his friends, who was each willing to let their friend fight the battle alone. Roxas smiled.

"Thanks guys," he said. Axel grinned back, slapping him on the back.

"Good luck. This guy is a demon when it comes to fighting," he replied, not cheering his young friend in any way. However, he leaned over to say more. "He also looks like a beast. Look at those sideburns!"

Roxas was forced to laugh as he walked forward and his friends backwards. As they went back on the roof, the wind formed another barrier, except it was a wall preventing any entry.

"Are you ready, rebel?" Xaldin asked, all six spears flying fast around him. Roxas lifted his Keyblade in readiness.

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Mr.Who2123: Ending there…sorry.

Roxas: Aw…I wanted to see myself kick Xaldin's butt!

Mr.Who2123: Next chapter, child.

Roxas: Child…I'm older than you.

Mr.Who2123: ……Well, anyways, please review!


	13. Winds of Fate

Mr.Who2123: Hm, I want this battle as long as possible…and, as I told some reviewers, I came up with this while almost falling asleep in my Spanish class. Hehehe…

Roxas: Uh…in Spanish class? By the way, she doesn't own a dime…or Square Enix.

Mr.Who2123: Why do you keep reminding me?

Roxas: …Because…it's fun.

Mr.Who2123: …Wow, you just reached an all new low for cruel. (Runs away, crying)

Roxas: (Sweat drop) Uh…let's…just start. Cough (baby) cough.

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Axel and Demyx had their faces pressed against the invisible barrier, watching intently as the two Nobodies began their fight. First, the two began slowly circling each other, making immaculate movements, for, if one made a misstep…that would be their death. Sometimes, one would move slightly faster, deciding whether to make a move, but would then slow down into the monotonous pace again, choosing otherwise.

And then everything spun into action as Xaldin sent three spears straight for Roxas, who parried the first, ducked under the second, and swerved over the third. Then, he dashed for the semi open Xaldin, as he still had three spears, looking for an open spot. The spears whirled in a circle, quickly revolving around the wind master. Roxas made a slash at Xaldin when he got close, hoping to hit him on the perfect opportunity. However, the blade clashed with a spear, and before Roxas could try another slash, he was forced to block a spear behind him.

Roxas then rolled out of the way, and retaliated. He sent slash after slash, thrust after thrust, trying to lay a hit on his enemy. Xaldin, however, just smirked in amusement as he had his arms folded, not even moving as Roxas had to exert all of his energy. Then, Xaldin sent a spear to slice at the legs of the younger Nobody, and Roxas jumped, landing on the spear itself. He nearly fell off when Xaldin sent the spear upward, high above the rooftops on which they fought.

Roxas, his eyes widened, half with fear and half at the fact he is actually still on the spear, tried to keep his balance, and hit wits, about him. The spear jerked to the side and Roxas fell backwards, his feet losing grip. Dropping his Keyblade, Roxas felt himself fall next to the spear, his arms flailing only for a moment. Immediately, he grabbed for the spear with his hands, and was no hanging for his life. The Keyblade which had fallen fell to the floor, the blade sinking into the invisible floor.

"Irritating little boy, isn't he," Xaldin grumbled, and his hand turned to the side. The spear on which Roxas held onto began to jerk, trying to shake off Roxas. Axel and Demyx shook with anticipation with each movement the spear made, and sometimes would yell when Roxas would lose a grip with one arm. But Roxas always managed to get his arm back up there.

The young Nobody was scared out of his wits as it continued to move, sudden movements making him shout or grip the spear even tighter. Suddenly, Roxas was knocked against the force of the wind barrier, and lost grip. Wind rushed past him, his hair flying into his face, and his clothes flapping loudly against the air. The invisible floor came closer and closer, and the young Nobody closed his eyes, bracing himself for the crash.

Air clashed with air as Roxas felt a gust of wind lighten his fall, as slight as it was. Landing painfully, Roxas landed on his arm, and the elbow made a 'crunch.' Screaming in pain, his eyes squinted shut, and his uninjured hand held the other. Slowly, he lifted his good arm, his right one, seeing fresh blood.

_Even if this is painful, I would've been dead had it not been for that gust of air…it could've only been Xaldin…but why?_ He thought, painstakingly sitting up. Moving his good arm to support the injured one, Roxas stood up, glaring at Xaldin, confusion in his pained eyes.

"Why did you save me?" Roxas asked, moving towards his Keyblade just ahead of him. The Organization member eyed Roxas, who let his crushed arm hang while his other pulled out the blade. The small little charm jingled in the light wind that passed by, glittering in the sunlight. The black blade was pointed directly at the similarly colored Organization member, whom eyed the blade skeptically.

"What good would it do the Organization to have you dead? You forget we're here to capture you, by force if necessary. Marluxia lied when he tried to convince you…he just wanted to get you back for killing him," he replied back in his deep voice. Roxas looked down at his blade.

_It seems everyone takes it easy on me…_he thought. His eyes then snapped back to his target. _And they're making a huge mistake!_

He charged at Xaldin, his left arm hanging loosely. Roxas parried the attack of a spear, slicing at his harshly. The tip of the butt broke off, but other than that, there was no damage. He continued to block attacks, searching for a weak point.

The fighting became suddenly easier as he blocked…as if he was still taking it easy on the young Nobody. As Roxas swerved away from a spear, he managed a slash at Xaldin's side. Fresh blood came out, dying the cloak a dark red over the black. Xaldin made no noise, except for a grunt. He lifted his hand high, and wind blew violently all around the two. It became so strong that Roxas felt himself being pushed away from the attacker. Suddenly, the Keyblade in his right hand flew out, flying in the wind, and an opening in the barrier formed. The Keyblade went through it, and disappeared behind it.

_Crap…no weapon._ Roxas looked at Xaldin, however, still determined. Then he noticed something. As the spears flew around him, there was an opening at every revolution. The young Nobody then went quickly to counting. _1 2 3 4 5…Where's the last spear?_

Roxas turned his head to see the chipped spear on the floor. Then, Roxas understood everything. _That's why it was easier to attack! He only had five spears!_ Roxas then dashed for the spear, picking it up. It was much lighter than he expected; the spear was heavily decorated with a light blue design that curled around spearhead.

Roxas, with his improvised weapon, began his fight. He ran for Xaldin, and blocked two spears at a time. With the longer weapon, blocking was less of a burden, and had a longer range of attack. The young Nobody gripped the very end of the chipped spear and swung it, knocking Xaldin over, at a greater distance with the spear. Cursing, he got up, and put his hands together.

"Dragon Spear!" he yelled, and the five spears around him spun at an extremely fast rate, and flew straight up into the air. Roxas kept his grip on the spear as they came back down, except this time as the shape of a Chinese Dragon. Roxas gulped as Xaldin jumped on its head, and sent it forward, straight at him.

Roxas widened his eyes as the dragon opened its mouth and a beam began charging in its mouth. With difficulty due to amazement, Roxas rolled out of the way, and to his dismay, the beam followed him, making him dodge like a madman. When he finally jumped away from the blast, his left side ran into the barrier, and pain shot up the arm, making Roxas wince.

_How do I get Xaldin from up there?_ He wondered constantly as the dragon flew towards him, and the spears separated from the structure, all flying towards him at once. Roxas screamed as they skimmed against his flesh, somehow none of them hitting him directly. His body was covered in cuts as the dragon rearranged itself. Then, it began charging the beam once again.

Roxas fell to his knees, panting from the pain and exertion of just dodging one attack. There was no way he could do it again. Hi head down in defeat, he waited for Xaldin to come down and capture him…until he looked at the spear in his hand.

_Why doesn't this spear work for Xaldin anymore, anyways?_ Then it came to him…the chipping of the spear! If he could just break the rest, then they would stop working! Slowly, Roxas stood, his body bent in pain, and his arm limp from the crushing fall.

The light blue beam finished charging, and Roxas bent his legs slightly, ready to spring away from the attack. As soon as it came close to hitting him, Roxas jumped away from the beam, and whacked the end of one of the spears as hard as he could. The intricate design on the side of the spear broke off, and it fell to the invisible floor, as if dead. With the spear gone, the dragon didn't have the left side of its mouth, making its mouth close sideways, and unable to conjure the beam again. Roxas was then forced to back away as the dragon threatened to bite him with its lopsided mouth.

The young Nobody picked up the dead spear in his dead hand; he'd need it if the one he already had broke.

Xaldin figured what Roxas was doing, and gritted his teeth in annoyance. _I'll need to take care of him quickly or I'll run out of spears…_

Roxas prepared himself to attack at the right moment. The dragon had no beam, and resorted to biting like crazy, trying to hit Roxas at least once. However, the young Nobody moved nimbly, rolling out of the way, waiting for the opportune moment. And then he found it. The dragon missed and passed Roxas, who dodged to the right of it. Quickly, he sliced at the spear that served as the right of the jaw, breaking both spears in half.

The dragon, now with no mouth, went out of control. Xaldin was used to exerting a certain amount of energy into his spears, but with three gone, the normal energy was way too much for the last three, and the dragon crashed into a wall, throwing Xaldin off of it. Muttering, the spear wielder sat up and brought the spears flying to him, back into their first formation of twirling around him.

Roxas now held the extra spear, handling it like he didn't know how to hold it without two arms. Suddenly, Xaldin burst straight for Roxas, his spears whirling with wind energy all around them. Roxas barely blocked one that Xaldin sent, while the other two knocked his feet, making Roxas fall, and coincidentally, on his left arm. A scream of pain came from his mouth as Roxas struggled to get up.

_Much more and I'll for sure fall unconscious…_his mind played in his head. _How do I get close to him? I've only hit him once, while I'm about to die…_

Roxas ran at Xaldin, trying his luck. He feigned a strike, spun around the spears that sliced towards him, and stabbed Xaldin's arm. Red mixed with black as his hand covered the wound, and the spear came out of his arm, returning to the control of the spear master.

Roxas was left with no weapon as he was forced to dodge the larger amount of spears, his mind racing for ideas. _I can't hit him…_ he quickly dodged two spears, but two more were sent straight into his back. Roxas didn't have enough energy to pull them out, wincing in pain. With unbearable pain in every movement, Roxas tried to continue his maneuvers, his mind buzzing, and his vision slowing down, as if everything was coming into slow motion. _…But I have before…_ Roxas ducked under a spear and ran for Xaldin. _…When I took a chance…_ Roxas jumped, throwing his weight on top of his enemy. _..So I guess I'll have to again!_ Roxas fell over, as well as his enemy, and the two struggled to gain control of the other, using brute force to push the other over and deal the final blow, either with a punch or kick, but with the wounds already dealt to them, it wouldn't take much to knock them out.

Roxas turned around, and the spears in his back whacked Xaldin in the face, knocking him over. Blood came from Xaldin's nose, showing the fierceness of the blow, and Xaldin was left semiconscious.

Suddenly, two spears went through Roxas' legs, and the young Nobody fell on his stomach, now resorting to crawling. Xaldin had his hand lifted, his energy fading as he sent the last of it into the blow. Then, he fell unconscious. Roxas inched his way, using his right arm, to be in reach of Xaldin's neck. Slowly and painfully, Roxas pulled out a spear, the light blue design now covered in blood. Grimacing, Roxas thrust down, and the spear went through the soft flesh like a hot knife through butter.

Roxas' vision became of blur, and the blur became red. _Loss of blood,_ he immediately knew, and the red vision began to fade into black. The sound of wind echoed in his ears as his head dropped, and his body became numb.

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Mr.Who2123: (Falls over) A battle that is four and a half pages long…

Roxas: …How did you come up with this in Spanish class again?

Mr.Who2123: Listening to Shakira sing in Spanish…

Roxas: 00 I…don't want to ask…

Mr.Who2123: Please review!!!

Roxas: Shakira…battle…Shakira…battle…I see no connection!!


	14. Healing of Body and Mind

Mr.Who2123: You really thought I could just leave that? I got another inspiration in Spanish class…except this time it was from a boy band equivalent to 'Nsync. Pretty pathetic, huh?

Roxas: (Barfing in trashcans) She owns… (Barfs again) …nothing.

Mr.Who2123: He…he…anyways, let's just begin.

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Everything seemed to go slow and blurry in his mind, as it played the moments. He had no idea why he was seeing what he did, but it seemed real enough.

Movements of the blurry people were jerky, as if it were images that had been taken by a camera, and he was being shown these pictures now. He was moving forward, jerking up the stairs, and following a figure. He noticed it was an Organization member, from the black cloak, but Roxas couldn't discern the figure. A low voice revealed the wielder of that voice; Xaldin.

"Number Thirteen, Superior has ordered a final test," he explained. He stopped, and pointed to the top of the stairs, where a small blur of Xemnas could be seen. As if not controlling himself, Roxas walked slowly up the stairs, feeling the tension, although he had no idea why he was tense. This obviously fake, or an illusion, as this never happened, Roxas assured himself. He remembered no such thing.

Finally, he reached the top, and became face-to-face with Xemnas. Barely, yellow eyes could be discerned in the blurriness of the illusion, looking down at Roxas.

"One final test, Number Thirteen," he said. Then, something glowed. It came from the direction of Xemnas' hand, and Roxas looked at it. The vision, however, was so blurry…it was just a white, glowing blur. "This and trust is your reward."

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The pain slowly returned, like a mouse returning to a trap that held its precious cheese under the dangerous clasp. It was faint, just a dull pain, and then it deepened, until the familiar pain at the end of his battle returned. The pain of each wound was now discernable, and Roxas' back felt like it was on fire, blazing in the pain. Roxas opened his eyes, but quickly winced them shut as the pain came to its fullest. His head swam with questions and confused thoughts on what he just saw, and where he is now.

"It looks like you're up again," a familiar voice said, the holder of that voice saying it in an amused tone. "Sometimes you would open your eyes, but you would just fall back unconscious from the pain."

"A…Axel?" Roxas said hoarsely, weakly looking up at his red haired friend. He could see the faint smile on his friend's face, and the young Nobody let his eyes close again.

"…Where am I?" he asked weakly, his eyes still closed shut. Questions swam in his head, especially the strange illusion.

"Roxie, you're inside one of the palace guestrooms," another voice explained. The laidback tone and the nickname was a giveaway.

"Hey, Demyx," Roxas said, trying to smile. However, it turned into a wince, the pain was too much.

"You're lucky we found the Emperor…he has some pretty good healers to bandage you up like that," Axel commented from the other side. Roxas slowly turned his head, nodding. "It will take a couple weeks for you to completely heal."

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Roxas was standing now, trying to walk after four days of rest. He wore his Organization Cloak considering his normal clothes were bloody and cut up. Slowly, he took a step, his black shoes taking a small step. Axel and Demyx were right by him, ready to help him if needed.

Roxas winced as he moved, his back stiff, and the pain still strong. Steadily, he walked towards his destination, the door. Ever since he woke up here, Roxas wished to see what the palace was like. He was already excited, considering he had a wonderful room.

It was large, and the walls were red, while the floor a lush, ink black carpet. He had a large bed with a design of a Chinese dragon, its outline yellow, but had no fill. Beside the bed was a dark wood table. On it was a white pot with yellow flowers arranged in it. Across the room was a desk and wardrobe, however, neither were used much, besides storing the large amount of cloaks in it.

Roxas gripped the golden handle and opened it, anxiously waiting to see what was on the other side. Instantly, a smile came to the young Nobody's face as he saw his surroundings.

He was on a high floor, as there were rails, and a floor way below. Imperial guards walked back and forth, their faces passive, and regarded Roxas with the utmost respect. Outside of the room, the floor was a white tile, polished and simple.

Paintings of former emperors were on the walls, each on looking dignified, and each had the same robe on, a deep scarlet with large sleeves and black lining.

"Could we go see Mulan and the emperor? I need to thank them," Roxas asked, looking to Axel. He nodded, and turned right towards the stairs. They led up, with black, wooden steps, and with guards on each side.

As the three approached the stairs, the guards nodded, accepting their entry, and they walked up, their shoes making a loud noise in the silence of the palace.

As Roxas came up, he saw the emperor, an old, thin man with a long white beard that trailed to his chest. His thin eyes were analytic, as they carefully watched me move painfully up the stairs.

"Welcome, heroes of China," he said. He bowed his head, and his arms were lifted slightly as they were in the sleeves, showing respect. Roxas bowed back, unsure of what to do.

"Heroes?" he asked, after his head was raised, and he looked straight into the emperor's eyes.

"The man whom you have slain had led evil creatures to attack the innocent people of China! Apparently, they stole the hearts of the men, and turned them into monsters! But, when you destroyed that man, you destroyed those monsters," he explained. Roxas thought for a moment before knowing what he was talking about.

_Heartless._

"Thank you for your hospitality, your Majesty," Roxas added, bowing again. The emperor nodded, and then pointed to his right. Roxas turned his head to see Mulan, silently watching the young Nobody with suspicion.

"Greetings young warrior, related to Sora," Mulan said, dropping her head in a bow. Roxas did the same, but found it exceedingly painful to move his damaged back so much.

"My name is Roxas, and I guess I should tell you the whole story," he replied, rubbing his neck. Mulan folded her arms, waiting. She still had doubts about him, even though he did defeat Xaldin. It was just suspicious that he had the same weapon as Sora, as well as looking disturbingly similar.

"It all started when Sora fell unconscious…"

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_It was happening again…that…dream…_

Roxas was jerkily moving down the steps. Apparently, this was after he met with Xemnas, as he somehow felt scared, nervous. He didn't even know why, though, as he made it to the bottom steps of the World that Never Was.

Suddenly, the young Nobody stuck out his hand, and a portal appeared. Where was he going? Without his own will, Roxas walked into the portal, and minutes later, appeared outside of Twilight Town, still nervous. As he walked down, Roxas felt himself moving stiffly, knowing he was getting more and more nervous.

He found a man in an alleyway, but with the blurry vision, he could only see the figure. He came closer and closer, noticing the man was trying to move away. However, the alley reached a dead end, and the person was against the wall.

The young Nobody felt himself pull out a Keyblade; it was the simple Kingdom Key. Slowly, he descended upon the man, his blade raised…

Roxas yelled, sitting up. He was sweating madly, his eyes wide, and his head fuzzy.

_What is going on?!_ He yelled in his mind, holding his aching head in his hand. Slowly, he let his head fall back into the fluffy pillow, his drowsiness getting the better of him.

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"Let's see if you're back in shape, Roxie," Demyx called. It had been ten days, and Roxas was going to spar, testing to see if he had finished healing. A red Keyblade appeared in his hand, the Enduring Dragon it was called. Its intricate design did not show what it really was, a strong and simple blade made for attack.

Demyx started by making clones with his sitar. Roxas smirked, and dashed at each of those clones. With one slash, they were popped and dead, something that was unusual to Roxas. The blade, it seemed, was much stronger than before, and fighting became especially easy as he performed slashes and strikes on the clones, destroying all of them within minutes.

Clapping was heard from the side, as Axel was pleased with the performance.

"That's my Roxas!" he called, smiling. Roxas smiled, his hand scratching his head. "But let's see if you can stand against me." Immediately, the modest smile turned into a face of determination.

"Fine with me," he replied, his Keyblade pointed at his opponent. Axel grinned at the confidence.

Fire burst from the floor all around Axel, turning the arena into a lava pit. Roxas took a step back as fire burst no more than a couple meters in from of him.

"I'm going to go easy on you," Axel added, his wheels spinning in his gloved hands. Roxas, poised in readiness, waited for Axel to make the first move. And it came quickly. Two flaming wheels came straight at Roxas, who jumped out of the way. However, they followed him, and Roxas was forced to lift his blade in defense as they came close. The clash of metal on metal made a loud clang throughout the arena as Roxas held his blade against the two wheels, no longer flaming. He struggled against the blades that overpowered his own. The force knocked over Roxas, and the wheel returned to Axel, whom began to make an advance on his opponent.

Roxas forced himself up quickly, just in time to block the thrusts made by Axel. They locked their blades, staring each other down, and trying to overpower the other. Suddenly, Axel ducked down, and kicked under Roxas' feet, knocking him over again. The younger of the Nobodies rolled out of the way as Axel threw down a wheel where Roxas' head just was. He managed to get up once more, this time making the first strike.

He sliced at Axel, but the flame master lifted his weapon in response, blocking it. Roxas then swerved away from the thrust Axel made with his wheels, and then sliced at his unguarded back. Axel grimaced in response to the pain that crept into his back.

"Let's stop," Roxas suddenly said. He let his Keyblade disappear in a flash of light. Axel turned to him, looking dejected, and did the same, except it was in a burst of fire. Along with the wheels, all the fire around them disappeared, leaving the arena with holes and burn marks all over it.

"Why'd you stop?" Axel whined, rubbing the thin wound on his back. Luckily, it hadn't drawn blood, but it was close, and needed to be treated.

"Well, we were fighting to death…and, I don't want to take any chances," Roxas replied, especially remembering the wheel that nearly sliced off his head had he not rolled out of the way. Axel nodded, slowly, still not satisfied with the fight.

"Well, at least you're all better," Demyx called from across the arena. Roxas smiled at the capricious comment, and headed for Demyx, with Axel behind.

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Mr.Who2123: Sorry, this was a pretty uneventful chapter…but I just wanted Roxas' recovery to be over with.

Roxas: But what do those illusion-like, dream things have to do with me?

Mr.Who2123: (Cackling) You just have to wait and find out!

Roxas: Uh…anyways, Mr.Who2123 would also like to thank the reviewers…seven in two days! New record!

Mr.Who2123: I know! It was amazing! (Goes off, complimenting the reviewers)

Roxas: She won't stop…well, thanks for reviewing, and review this chapter too, please!


	15. To Olympus!

Mr.Who2123: Okay, time to go to the next world!!

Roxas: Yay…

Mr.Who2123: …You sound excited.

Roxas: …She owns nothing.

Mr.Who2123: Begin!!!

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Roxas stood outside the grand palace of the Imperial city. Axel and Demyx were behind him, watching as the emperor came down the steps.

"You have helped us stop the Huns by defeating the mastermind of the evil creature. They were on the same side as the Huns, and we were overwhelmed for a time. However, your appearance has saved China. We are honored," he said. The old man bowed his head to Roxas, who only beamed.

Suddenly, roars and cheers were heard behind the group. Roxas whirled around, thinking it was an enemy. He was about to summon his Keyblade when he stopped at the sight. Thousands of the civilians were cheering, filling the whole square. The young Nobody relaxed, smiling even wider than before.

"C'mon, it's time for you to go," Axel said softly. Roxas nodded reluctantly, turning towards the palace. Demyx had created a portal to another world, beckoning his fellows to hurry inside.

Roxas waved to the people before he disappeared beneath the darkness of the portal. It was silent for a moment in there, Roxas uncomfortable, while Axel and Demyx were in deep thought.

"Hey, where are we going?" Roxas suddenly asked, looking to Demyx for an answer.

"Oh, we're just going to Olympus. I thought it might have something there," Demyx replied, shrugging.

"Isn't that where you got owned by Sora?" Axel asked, sneering. Demyx frowned.

"I said they chose the wrong guy to do that…but do they listen to me?" Demyx retorted. He folded his arms stubbornly, while Axel and Roxas snickered a bit. When the portal opened once more, Demyx shrugged off his pouting, and instead put on a surprised one.

"What happened to Olympus?" he asked, shocked. Axel and Roxas were the same way.

The two statues in front were crumbled, and almost every building had fallen. Debris was everywhere.

"Oh yeah…didn't the hydra attack?" Roxas suddenly said. His memory of Sora fighting the monster was returning quickly, as he had merely forgotten the time.

Hercules was in the middle of the crumbling buildings, throwing the huge boulders away. Phil and Meg were there too, grabbing rocks quite a bit smaller than what Hercules was.

The half god looked up from his work, noticing the three visitors.

"Hi, welcome too Olympus! …I haven't seen your faces before. You new here?" Hercules said. He stopped his work, and walked over to the three Nobodies.

"Hi! Uh, yeah, we're new. We're looking for a guy in a black cloak like his," Roxas introduced. He put his hand on Demyx's cloak, as he had changed back into his old clothes. Hercules took a hard look at the clothes, trying to recall of any similarly dressed person.

"Well, didn't Sora say he fought someone in a cloak like yours?" Meg added, moving beside Hercules.

"Oh yeah…he only left a couple weeks ago. He told me he really beat up the guy because he sent him running," Phil added. Roxas put a hand on his face, trying to contain the smile while Axel chuckled, sneering at Demyx, who glared back.

"Okay, I told the Organization they sent the wrong guy when I had to fight him…and he did NOT own me!" Demyx retorted, mostly to Axel. Roxas' head darted up to see Hercules' reaction, which he knew would not be good.

"Wait a minute…_you_ were after Sora?" he demanded. His face became one of determination, and the two Olympians backed behind him.

Axel stopped laughing, and Demyx his anger when the reaction of Hercules hit them.

"Oh…crap. Wait a minute…Hercules, it's not what it seems!" Demyx began, coming towards the half god. Hercules didn't end his focus at all as he waited for Demyx to continue. "You see, Sora saved the world, and then he fell unconscious, and Roxas came, and he's the only one who can save the world so we need to find the dudes in cloaks like mine."

Of course, this made no sense to Hercules, as he tilted his head, obviously confused. Roxas sighed, running his hand down his face.

"Listen, we're just trying to save the worlds. We are here to help Sora," Axel said. "C'mon, Hercules, how can we get your trust?"

Hercules relaxed slightly, accepting the suggestion.

"Well…you are good fighters, right?" the half god asked. The unison of nods was an affirmative. "Alright. It seems that the Ice Titan is breaking the chains that bind it into its mountain. I want you three to defeat the titan, and strengthen the bonds once more. I would like to do it…but I'm busy helping rebuild the coliseum."

Roxas, Axel, and Demyx took in the large bit of information, and nodded. It didn't sound that hard…

"Uh, how will you know if we really did it or not?" Roxas asked. Hercules folded his arms, thinking.

"Well, my father Zeus will give me confirmation if you truly did it or not," Hercules replied. Demyx felt a bit of pressure, being closely observed by the god of lightning.

"Well, how do we strengthen the bonds?" Axel wondered as well.

"It's easy, just call for Vulcan, the god of blacksmith, to send you some chains," he replied. Roxas, Axel, and Demyx's eyes widened.

"How do we do that?" Demyx asked. The half god sighed, becoming irritated, and chucked a small pendant at the asker of the question.

"Put that on the weak chains, and they will be replaced. Just don't lose that, because that is my only one," Hercules explained. His last sentence was said as a threat, and the three Nobodies agreed to let Roxas have the charm, reasoning he is the most responsible.

"Let's get going right now!" Demyx blurted, pointing to a far mountain in the distant. It was a close one, with grass all over it. It was not tall, and a light snow powdered the top of it gently.

"Uh, that isn't the mountain," Hercules said. He pointed behind Demyx, and everyone turned around to see.

It was completely opposite. It was dark, with a giant black cloud over it. The mountain was steep, with howling winds and thunder flashing over it. Snow covered half the mountain, and the other half was black dirt.

They widened their eyes, silently wishing it was the first mountain.

"Why can't evil people live in happy places anymore?" moaned the sitar player.

"Well, we have to climb it, considering we can't warp," Axel observed. Roxas and Demyx looked to their red haired comrade for enlightenment. And he did not disappoint.

"We could risk teleporting to the edge of something, and we'd fall to our deaths. And, considering we've never been at that mountain, it would be highly likely."

"Then let's do it the old fashioned way, then," Roxas said. He started for the mountain, waving good bye to the half god. The other Nobodies quickly followed.

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Zexion walked nonchalantly towards the Superior. Number One was at the top of the Castle That Never Was, his head up. His yellow eyes were plastered on the giant, half golden heart above them.

"Excuse me, sir, allow me to take a moment out of your obsessive staring," the silver haired Nobody said. His voice was firm, unafraid of what his blunt comment could cause. Xemnas turned around, giving a cold glare to his fellow Organization member.

"What is it, I'm busy," he muttered angrily.

"I can see that sir, but I have important news…Roxas has recovered something strange…it's confusing to him, but he got part of it back," Zexion began. Xemnas raised a brow.

"You mean…his...," Xemnas began.

"Yes sir, Roxas' memory is slowly returning. We don't know how, but Vexen is working on it intently," the younger Nobody excused himself, bowing his head, and then abruptly leaving.

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Roxas got out of bed in the Imperial Castle. His rubbed his head, confused of the dream. Little did he know that a puppet of an imperial guard was right outside his door.

"That was a weird dream…I saw Xemnas without trying to kill him? And what was that white, glowing thing?" he wondered out loud. Zexion, controlling the puppet, nearly fell over when hearing this. His single showing eye widened as Roxas continued to murmur.

"I remember that…," he muttered as well, though it was merely a whisper, no louder than a wisp of wind. "Roxas…he's remembering."

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Mr.Who2123: Very end is a past event if you didn't get it.

Roxas: I'm remembering! Yay!

Mr.Who2123: Meh, but it will be at least four chapters later before you'll know. Mwahaha!

Roxas: Please review!!


	16. Endurance to Finish

Mr.Who2123: Well, after a bit of a filler chapter…let's get to some adventuring stuff!

Roxas: (Yawn) She owns nothing…

Mr.Who2123: …Say it with a bit of remorse at least!

Roxas: No remorse…I'm glad you don't own me.

Mr.Who2123: What could be bad about having me own you?

Roxas: Well…you'd make me do ridiculous things such as…go in the circus, do your shopping/laundry, clean your house, drink five cans of root beer at one time, and eat a partridge in a pear tree.

Mr.Who2123: …Where'd you get my list?

Roxas: Uh…not from your secret closet with all your story stuff in there.

Mr.Who2123: …Let's just start…

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A precipice, moving at an almost vertical angle, was right in front of the three Nobodies was they wondered how horrible this journey is going to be. The wind was harsh and the black cloaks whipped around their feet, making noise. Roxas brushed a stray strand of blonde hair from his face, and began walking around the mountain to look for at least a semi-vertical slope in which they could climb.

"We're going to die…we are so going to die," Demyx muttered as the youngest of the group found an opening. The murmuring under the sitar player's breath was due to the fact that this slope was very thin, yet it was a straight passage to the top of the mountain.

Axel smiled at his friend's fear, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Oh, I think someone here is afraid of heights," Axel said, trying to sound innocent and unaware of the person right next to him.

"I am not afraid of heights," Demyx retorted, his cheeks hinting a dash of pink.

"Then, c'mon! Let's get this over with!" Roxas exclaimed from the start of the slope. He was already four feet above the ground, his front against the wall of the mountain while he crept sideways, holding onto any protruding rocks.

Rushing to catch up with their younger friend, the two other Nobodies assumed the same position as the first, and crept along sideways, slowly trailing up the mountain.

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Vexen was slaving over the information that Roxas had recovered part of his long lost memory. Open books were scattered about his large, black desk, and equations were scribbled on hundreds of sheets of paper.

Models of brains and memory cells were on stands, and the scientist looked over them again and again, trying to uncover the memory gain which had come upon the adversary so quickly.

Zexion walked in, silently and solemnly. He watched the scientist work incessantly, always checking and rechecking notes, looking through books, and other things.

"Mansex wanted me to check up on you," Zexion stated. Vexen nearly jumped a whole foot when hearing this, and looked behind to see the silver haired Nobody right behind him.

"Tell him I'll tell him when I finish," Vexen replied, returning to his work as if Zexion wasn't there at all. Zexion looked doubtfully at his acquaintance, and walked the way he came, shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright, whatever," he merely said before he closed the door. Vexen looked back at where Zexion just was, making sure he was completely gone.

"Hehehe…Mansex…" he said to himself, chuckling.

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The mountain which held the Ice Titan was definitely an unkind one. Merely halfway up, snow fell all around it, making the journey up all the more difficult. It promoted slipping and it feigned safety in places which were truly not. Snow would cover a clearly loose rock, yet the three wouldn't know it because the snow covered it, making it seem stable.

In one of these occurrences, Roxas was hanging with hand on a freezing rock, and the other flailing wildly. He had stepped on a loose rock, which gave away immediately, and the young Nobody grabbed the edge of the cliff by pure luck.

"Roxas!" was the exclamation made by the other two, both trying to think of a plan on the spot. Axel, whom was in front, began to lower to one knee, stabilizing himself on it. Slowly, he stretched out his arm, moving steadily closer to Roxas.

Demyx had grabbed onto Axel's cloak, helping him to be supported while Demyx was holding a protruding rock with his other hand. Roxas lifted his free hand, making an effort to grab his friend's hand. He reached as far as he could, yet it was not enough.

As the two attempted to grab each other's hand, the edge of the cliff in which Roxas' held himself up, began to crumble. It suddenly gave away, and Roxas began falling into the deep abyss below.

"Roxas!" Axel yelled, making a gesture to grab it, and his upper half fell over the edge of the cliff. He reached, his heart pounding, and his arm stretched to the limit, as Roxxas was about to fall out of reach.

The gloved hand finally caught Roxas…by the shoe. The young Nobody was hanging, his face in the direction of the far away ground.

"Whatever you do…do NOT drop me," Roxas said, quite loudly as Axel sighed in pure relief. Demyx was now on his knees, straining to keep Axel on the cliff, his face red with exertion.

"Man you guys are heavy," Demyx grunted, shifting backwards. Slowly, Axel was pulled up, and Roxas with him, watching loose rocks fall down the cliff where they disappeared quickly.

_I hope that I don't end up like those rocks…_ Roxas thought pessimistically, and he felt his leg hit solid ground. Relieved, Roxas sighed as he was pulled further up until he was completely on the freezing rock. Axel and Demyx were catching their breath, their faces flustered from the exertion and the craziness, with their hands on their knees and their bodies stooped over. Roxas was still on the floor, catching his breath as well.

"Thanks guys," Roxas said in between thick gasps, and the young Nobody finally stood up. He wiped dirty snow off of his beige pants and waited patiently for Axel and Demyx to finish their short break.

"You are going on a diet from now on…both of you," Demyx said, his breathing completely even now. Axel smirked at the comment, and nodded to Roxas, signaling him to go.

They began their steep climb once more, their carelessness dissipated after the heart stopping moment. Every time the Nobodies moved, they slowly put weight on the path in front of them, and if it proved stable, they steadily exerted more pressure until they were satisfied.

They continued to climb and climb, the care they put in their treading never abating, and the winds grew harsher as they scaled the mountain. The winds became harsh, and snow blew into the cold faces of the group. Roxas looked up to see the distance to the top. The top was almost fifty feet up, only another forty five minutes.

"Almost there!" Roxas yelled through the harsh winds. Axel wearily made a thumbs up sign, but he couldn't see Demyx well enough throughout he snow, and assumed he heard the exclamation.

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Vexen was writing out an equation for the brain memory system when he suddenly stopped dead.

He turned to a flask with a green substance in it sitting on a rack. He grabbed a nearby dropper and obtained a drop of the substance, placing it on a Petri dish. Then, he grabbed another flask next to the green one, which was a dark blue, and placed a drop on top of the green one.

The two substances mixed immediately, turning into a deep sea green, and bubbles appeared from the small drops. The scientist widened his eyes at the reaction, and didn't even properly put his stuff away as he turned around.

"I GOT IT!!!" Vexen yelled, and dashed for the door.

Zexion was sitting down, taking a nap on a black sofa when he heard a crash to his right. Drowsily lifting his head, he looked for the source of the crash. Within seconds, a crazy looking Vexen was running through the hall, and headed straight for the Superior's room.

"What are you doing-?" Zexion called, rubbing his eyes.

"I GOT IT!!" Vexen yelled again, in huge euphoria, while Zexion merely shrugged and went back to sleep.

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However, Vexen wasn't the only one filled with jubilance. Roxas, Axel, and Demyx had all made it to the top of the mountain, their bodies cold, their feet numb, and the wind blowing harshly, but it almost felt like nothing when compared to scaling a mountain such as this.

At the top of the mountain, the tip was actually a crater, and down, at least one hundred feet, was a huge Ice monster, thrashing about inside of it. Long, golden chain bound its icicle arms and legs, but they were strained to the tip of their capabilities. The Ice Titan's small, red eyes caught sight of the three freezing Nobodies, and the thrashing became harsher. Suddenly, the wind picked up even more, and the snow fell more harshly, and the harsh weather turned into a full on snow storm.

Roxas had to cover his eyes, the dry wind hurt them when he even slightly opened them. Axel and Demyx were doing just the same, their cold bodies, if possible, were even more freezing.

Axel shifted his feet to get a better grip on the floor, but ended up slipping, falling down into the huge crater.

"GREASIE!!!" Demyx yelled, but he was already sliding down on the ice coated mountain.

"AXEL!" Roxas yelled as well. He made a move to go after him, but Demyx stopped him. "Let me get go! We need to save Axel!" Roxas yelled. Demyx grabbed Roxas' shoulders, shaking the younger Nobody's whole body.

"Axel can hold off the Ice Titan while you strengthen the chains!" Demyx shouted. Roxas hesitated, looking down to see Axel had finally landed on the floor, right next to the Ice Titan's huge icicle of a leg.

"…Fine," he answered, and began walking around the perimeter of the crater to reach a chain.

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Mr.Who2123: Hehehe…kind of a cliffhanger for you!

Roxas: Yeah, get ready for a big duel between Axel and the Ice Titan!

Mr.Who2123: You kind of weren't supposed to say that…

Roxas: Please Review!

Mr.Who2123: …


	17. Elemental Showdown

Mr.Who2123: Sorry for the period of no updates, I just finished my other story 'Hope for the Forsaken.' Go read it!

Roxas: (Sigh) She owns nothing related to Kingdom Hearts.

Mr.Who2123: BEGIN!!

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The blizzard on the mountaintop was devastating, and was mostly caused by the rage of the Ice Titan. It thrashed about as Axel scurried about, running from the huge icicle legs. When the leg was about to get him, Axel managed to summon his wheels and send a huge blast of fire right into the foot.

The Titan made an inhuman scream and stepped away, thrashing its foot about in pain. Axel barely managed to roll away from a giant, falling ice block, caused to the violent shaking of the mountain.

"Man, this thing is annoying…," Axel moaned as he stood up and wiped some snow off of his black cloak. He then quickly jumped high in the air, summoning as much fire power as he could, and aimed it at the huge Titan, sending red and white flames right into its face with his wheels in hands. Once again screaming, the Titan thrashed about, yelling loudly and stomping around in pain. Axel smirked as he landed on the rim of the mountain, seeing his adversary in pain.

"Stupid beast…," he muttered, smirking.

Roxas was moving slowly across the rim of the mountain, now only five meters away from the big, golden chain.

_If the gods are so amazing, why can't they do this job themselves? _He wondered as he finally made it to the chain. Quickly, he pulled out the pendant, and placed it on top of the chain, hooking it on with the small accessory's clip which was on the underside of it. Suddenly, the chains began to glow brightly, and Roxas covered his eyes from the intensity of it.

When Roxas could see again, he saw that the chain seemed refortified, as the chains were brighter and larger than before. Smiling, the young Nobody took the pendant off.

_Three to go,_ he thought, moving to the next one.

Axel was dodging giant ice projectiles, sent from the titan's mouth, finding no time to retaliate. The titan seemed to be a never ending fountain of rage and energy. Annoyed, the flame master jumped away from what seemed the millionth icicle as his mind worked through a plan. There was a cry from above, and Axel looked up to see that Demyx had made the noise. The clumsy Nobody had tripped, and was hanging from the rim of the mountain, his flailing body just over the titan's head in the crater. As he was trying to get himself back up, a piece of hail hit his head, and Demyx flailed even more.

Axel just smirked at the stupidity of his friend, the smirk was wiped off, however as the titan continued to attack him. Suddenly, an idea filled his head. The flame master ducked as hails of ice were shot at him from the titan's hand, mixing with the thick blizzard that was already making Axel cold. 

Axel made one of his wheels disappear, and placed his free hand on the floor. Sending energy into it, he closed his eyes in concentration, knowing he had to hurry if this was to work. Reaching his target area in which to use his power, Axel stood up and let his hand free from the snow and dirt covered floor.

In an instant, fire burst from the point Axel had wished for, which was directly across from him, and behind the titan. Red spouts of the flames landed all around the titan, taking away the monster's attention.

_While he's worried about the fire, I'll be able to get a nice shot on his face,_ the flame master muttered in his thoughts. His formerly free hand now held the newly appearing wheel, and Axel stood in a readied position, beginning his next attack.

Roxas was now at the second chain end, sighing happily at it. Quickly, he slapped the pendant on, and waited for the bright flash of light. After he did so, the young Nobody heard a loud noise from the inside of the mountain. Looking over, Roxas noticed spouts of flame behind the titan, and Axel poised for action.

_Well…it looks like he has things under control…,_ he thought, smiling as he grabbed the small item and moved to the third chain.

Axel began his attack by shooting a burst of fire at the unnoticing titan's knee area. Roaring, it fell on that knee, making it easy for Axel to jump onto the arm that was lowered. Now on it, he began throwing his wheels, covering them in flames before he chucked them at wherever there was ice.

The wheels made holes into the stomach area of the titan, causing further aggravation and anger from the beast. Flailing, it swung its arm, hitting the flame master, and slammed Axel into the wall of the mountain, the force of the monster causing Axel to nearly fall unconscious. Weakly, he slid to the floor, getting up slowly. Luckily for him, the beast was fussing over the flames still burning strongly on the ground, making steps away from it, and towards where Axel was.

Another brilliant Axel plan came into his mind, and he got up, staggering as he ran into a hidden corner of the crater. Summoning his energy like before, Axel sent the fire into the ground, sending it to where he just was. Flames began bursting from that side as well, gushing thick, boiling lava out of the ground.

The flame master smirked as the titan was literally stuck. Something was wrong, however. Flames kept spewing forth fire, though they should have stopped minutes ago. Looking down, Axel noticed his hand was still on the ground floor, sending energy through it. Quickly, he pulled his hand off the ground, inwardly cursing for his stupid act.

Roxas had finished his third chain, taking a minute break before moving on. He was halfway around the crater, his body facing to where he started. Looking down, Roxas saw that fire was spewing everywhere, almost out of control as Axel lifted his wheels and began close combat with the titan's leg.

After a few minutes, the young Nobody continued on to the last chain.

Axel was very weak from his exerted energy and the slam against the wall. He found himself lacking in his close combat, chucking his wheels at wherever he could find time, and the rest was for dodging the beast's unending attacks. Axel suddenly noticed the lava _still_ did not end spewing the lava, and that the deadly liquid was coming closer. Seeing this factor, Axel jumped away, onto a rock that was close to the edge of the crater. Using his great, Nobody jumping abilities, Axel was able to move from rock to rock, silently thanking mother nature that there were many boulders protruding from the wall.

Demyx greeted Axel as the Nobody made it to the rim. He saw the titan trying to get out of the lava, but it covered the whole crater, making the beast slowly melt. The ground still made huge gushes of lava, though Axel had no idea why. Cracks came from the floor of the crater as move lava began gushing in, seemingly endless amounts beginning to fill the crater like a tank filling with water. Axel slowly realized that the lava wasn't his own doing.

"This is a volcano!" he exclaimed, stepping back. "And I just set the trigger!" The titan was melting quickly, its lower half below the knees completely melted away, and the lava was making a quick job of the thighs as well. It roared, continually thrashing about like a madman, and trying to move.

Demyx looked to Roxas, who was almost at the last chain.

"Hurry ROXAS!" the water master yelled. Roxas looked up, barely hearing, and nodded, his speed increasing dramatically. He noticed the fire was spewing madly as well, and depicted that something had gone wrong. Finally reaching the last end, the young Nobody slapped the pendant on, and looked over to the Ice Titan. The lava was increasing, and was at the level of its stomach, and almost halfway up the crater. Roxas grabbed the pendant as soon as it did its job, and dashed for Axel and Demyx as fast as he could.

The older Nobodies were running towards Roxas as well, though they made sure to be careful as well. The three made it, each of them breathing heavily. They looked over to the titan, and saw only the neck was left as it made dying screams, each getting weaker.

Suddenly, it sent out a flurry of icicles from its mouth, sending them towards the three Nobodies. Quickly, they shielded themselves, moving side to side to dodge them.

Sighing in relief as the small attack was over, the three began to make a portal to Hercules when an aloof icicle went towards Roxas. The young Nobody noticed just in time, dodging it quickly, but because of the short notice, it skimmed his side, and knocked the pendant off of Roxas' cloak, and down the outer edge of the cliff.

"NO!" Axel yelled, and jumped down after it. It was Demyx and Roxas' turn to scream as they saw their friend leap, and catch the small object. Chucking it high, Axel was now falling alone. Quickly, he opened a portal, still in midair, and focused on the area where Hercules resided. The ground was coming towards Axel quickly as he just finished his portal, and made it inside just seconds before he would have hit the ground.

Roxas had caught the pendant, his eyes never leaving the small form of Axel. Seeing the black spot in the middle of the fall, Demyx and Roxas were relieved, but still unsure of whether he made it or not. Deciding not to wait, the two created a portal as well, and entered it.

When they opened their eyes after the darkness of the portal dissipated, the two saw a red-haired Nobody right in front of them, his arms folded and his face in a laughing expression.

"Roxas, you owe me big time," he said, smirking as he walked to his friends. Demyx and Roxas smiled as they walked to him, congratulating him on his victory, and his free-fall stunt.

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Xemnas was doing what he does best…which was, sadly, staring sadistically at Kingdom Hearts. You'd think that after half an hour, you'd get tired, but this man was purely obsessed with becoming whole. So it wasn't a surprise when a barely controlled Vexen(as he was super excited about 'getting it.') as he saw his leader staring at the shining moon.

"Sir, I've found the cause of Roxas' memories returning!" he exclaimed, now almost right behind him. Xemnas looked back and smirked. He nodded, beckoning the excited Vexen to continue.

"Disposed subject 0034 had been messing with Roxas' mind, and his memories will undoubtedly come back quickly," Vexen finished. Xemnas' eyes grew wide.

"But I thought that subject had no powers at all!" he replied, his body now turned to the scientist. Vexen shook his head slowly.

"I am working out the details, sir," he replied, and bowed his head quickly. "I will go do it now." And Vexen was off like a rocket, his love of experimenting the main reason of his speed.

"Test Subject 0034…she was named…Fiara," Xemnas slowly murmured. His confused mind wondered tirelessly as he looked back to Kingdom Hearts, not moving for hours.

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Mr.Who2123: Ooh, makes you wonder who Fiara really is. Hehehe…

Roxas: Hm, that wasn't much of a showdown, though…

Mr.Who2123: (Sigh) I know…I'm losing my fighting creativity juices…

Roxas: Yup…Well, you know the drill, readers. Please review!!


	18. Almighty Deception

Mr

Mr.Who2123: Well, after a SUPER long hiatus…which I am TRULY sorry for…I am on full throttle for this story…meaning I am working on only this story, and no others until I finish it. YAY!! Oh, and I own nothing related to Square Enix.

It's also Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core's fault. That game is tied with FF7 as THE best game of all time. If you have a PSP, get the game by all costs. It's amazing. I got super addicted to it, obviously.

Roxas: Begin!

Oh, and before I start, there is a pretty grotesque scene in the end; it's blood and gore, so if you don't want to read anything gory, then don't read this.

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The three Nobodies, each holding their heads up high, walked over to Hercules. He was stroking his chin with his thumb and forefinger, as if in deep thought. Roxas looked back to Demyx and Axel in hesitation, and received two nods.

"Ah, Hercules," the youngest Nobody began, and the hero turned to him. "We did it!" Hercules' face turned to a smile immediately, and he quickly walked to the three.

"Thanks guys! I knew you could do it!" he exclaimed, smiling. Roxas grinned shyly, glancing back at his friends.

"Well…I couldn't have done it without them," he remarked, gesturing to them.

"Yeah!! I owned!" Demyx shouted. The Nobody next to him snorted.

"You basically did nothing," Axel answered, giving him a long look.

"Did not!"

"What did you do, then?" Axel demanded. Roxas and Hercules were watching, Roxas sighing while the other watched in slight surprise. They exchanged a glance nervously as the argument continued.

"I helped Roxas and gave moral support!"

"Pfft, what kind of help is that?"

"Well, for your information-!" Roxas stopped the quibbling Nobodies by pushing the two away from each other. The argument itself had mitigated, but they glared daggers to each other, as if trying to speak with their looks.

"Hey, uh…Roxas, right?" Hercules called. The said Nobody turned around, ready to listen. "Could I have my pendant back?" Roxas nodded silently, and pulled it out of his pocket. The golden surface shone brilliantly on the front, and matched the clasp on the back. After examining it one more time, he handed it to the hero with a smile. "Man, you guys are total saps! I can't believe how easy that was!"

What the three Nobodies couldn't believe was that Hercules was saying something like that. Of course, their unasked question was immediately answered. There was a flash of blue fire around the supposed Hercules. It consumed him completely, and not one speck of him could be seen. Roxas backed up so he was next to his friends, and watched in awe with them. Suddenly, the flames disappeared in the next instant. There, among a pile of black ashes was Hades, smirking as he held the golden charm. His blue hand threw it in the air, and would catch it after gravity would pull it down once more.

"Hades, what are you up to?" Roxas demanded. His Enduring Dragon appeared in a flash of light. The red and gold designs glittered in the sunlight. The others each took out their weapons as well, each with a menacing glare. The demigod pretended to be afraid and stuck his arms in front of him.

"Oh, I'm so afraid of a couple Nobody saps!" he exclaimed pitifully. Roxas pointed his Keyblade at him; the pointed tip nearly touched his fleshy neck.

"I'm going to ask again…what are you planning?" the young Nobody asked darkly. For someone so small and nice looking, he looked like he could have been an evil god. This time, Hades did begin to worry, especially with a blade against his neck.

"Whoa, whoa fellas, calm down. I'm not doing anything…in fact," he paused to smirk at his adversaries. "You should worry about what _you_ did." With the last comment, Hades disappeared in a flash of fire. The three looked amongst each other, all wondering what they could have possibly done.

"Wait a minute…the mountain we just climbed…is there supposed to be a large avalanche sliding down it?" Demyx suddenly asked. The two others followed his pointed finger to what seemed a block of ice falling down the red and white mountain. A huge cloud of white dust would rise behind it, making it look like a white line. Lava still flowed from the tip, but the rest remained icy. Roxas and Axel squinted their eyes on the strange phenomenon, and saw that the block of ice was actually the Ice Titan sliding down the mountain.

"That's…the Ice Titan," Roxas muttered. He smacked his face while Demyx and Axel stared wide eyed at it. "Just our day. We were tricked by Hades the whole time…and now we have to fight the Ice Titan…again!"

"It looks like you're doing well, Number Thirteen," a voice remarked. It was a calm, collected voice, like the person had practiced to keep that voice steady. Axel turned around, anger appearing on his usually smiling face.

"I'd know that voice anywhere. Vexen, stop hiding!" he yelled. Roxas and Demyx watched Axel, both of them confused. They didn't know it was Axel who first killed Vexen, and that he knew the scientist before he even met Roxas. Let's just add that he didn't particularly like him either. The wheels at Axel's hands began spinning, and fire circled around them.

The form of the scientist Nobody had appeared, in front of Axel. His giant shield buckled onto his arm. It was long and square, and built to last against anything. The shield was a light blue, almost the color white. His element was ice, and his shield represented the color of it. In fact, the large shield was covered with a layer of hard ice to enhance his attack; it was jagged and could draw blood if it hit with enough force. There was a spike on each side of the shield except for the bottom, which were the main outlet for attack.

The Nobody peered at Axel with hate raging in his green eyes. His free arm shook with hate at his adversary. A small smirk came to his lips, however.

"I've been waiting for a long time to finally kill you, Axel," he spat. Axel smirked back. His wheels began spinning even faster as his adrenaline pumped through him.

"How funny...I've been waiting for so long to kill you _again!_" he exclaimed back. Vexen's smile turned into a tight, thin line. No more words were exchanged, but they merely stared each other down.

Loud crashing sounds came from the opposite side of Axel, and everyone turned around in response. The Ice Titan itself was charging at full speed towards the group, rage evident in its red eyes.

"Oh, shoot," Demyx merely muttered. A moment later, everyone was forced to scramble out of the way as it ran right through where they just were. Axel and Vexen had both rolled out of the way, but were on their feet again, glaring at each other in the next instant. Roxas and Demyx's eyes were fixed on the titan who had slowed its paced to turn around.

"Roxas, Demyx, I'm going to take care of Vexen here, you take care of the big guy," Axel suddenly ordered. Roxas and Demyx needed no second telling. The affair between Axel and Vexen was their own, and they weren't to intervene. Vexen laughed at the comment, shaking his dull blonde hair.

"You killed me from behind, when I didn't see you. You won't be able to kill me face to face, Axel," he sneered. The flame master gripped his weapons tightly, ready to spring into action any time. They were like coiled springs, with energy stored to help him fight against anything. Fire danced around his weapons, controlled by the wielder of them. His fists then relaxed for but a moment, before suddenly clenching themselves once more. In that moment, Axel was dashing towards Vexen, moving quickly. The Organization member thrust his shield up just in time to block the harsh blow. The cold shield and flaming hot wheel clashed, and sparks flew. Chipped ice fell of the shield, melting quickly by the flames around it. They became small puddles of clear water within seconds of when they hit the floor.

Again and again, the Nobodies clashed their weapons, with elements colliding fiercely. Each knew one false misstep could cause their death. Vexen sidestepped from the thrown wheel, and quickly rammed into Axel. The shield's chipped edge smashed into his surprised face, cutting it harshly on the right side. Yelling, the flame master dropped his weapons and clutched his cut face. A thick line of blood leaked from the spot, nearly matching his flame red hair. Vexen laughed once again, watching Axel stumble backwards a bit.

"You see, I'm too strong for you!" he exclaimed. Axel fell to one knee, and Vexen had begun to think he had won. The flame master put his hands on the floor to steady his form, with his palms spread. His head was down and his face hidden from Vexen's view. "I'll end it now, Axel." Vexen was advancing upon his adversary slowly, savoring his glorious moment. He didn't notice that Axel was smirking from where he was.

Columns of blazing fire shot up from the dirt, reaching ten feet into the sky. The temperature raised to blazing heat, and turning the atmosphere red. The bright red flames caused Axel's enemy to cover his eyes from the light and stumble back. They made a large circle around Vexen, surrounding him completely. Raising himself slowly, Axel summoned his weapons once more, which appeared in a flash of fire similar to the giant columns that surrounded Vexen.

Axel walked towards the circle of fire, seeing the faint, nervous form of Vexen inside it. Axel, however, was calm as could be, smiling slightly at his successful attack. The wheels at his side were hanging from his fingers, looking like they could fall off any moment. He held one with only one finger, and spun the weapon in a full circle. His hand, trained to do this, kept doing it with complete ease and grace while the red weapon became a blur of red and black with the quick movements. Shoulders relaxed, and smirking deviously, he lifted his left hand, still holding the wheel, and waved it, like he was shooing something away. The thick column of fire separating himself from his adversary made a hole at the bottom, looking similar to a hand lifting the bottom of a hanging red cloth with only a finger.

Vexen held his shield up, his nervousness suppressed. Axel appeared from the fire, at first a blur, but then became discernable. He could make out the thin figure and the wheels close to his sides.

_It's time I stop waiting for him and kill him, _Vexen muttered in his thoughts. He threw his shield high in the air and jumped up to follow it. Axel followed with his eyes, unsure of what he would do. When above the fire, he caught the weapon, grasping it firmly. As he did, long, razor sharp ice darts shot out from the weapon, flying towards the flame master. Axel pointed his arm towards one of the blazing columns, and tightened his arm, as if he grabbed something that was trying to pull away him. He thrust his arm in front of his body, pointing it at the quickly approaching missiles. The column of fire moved quickly and followed the direction of Axel's arm. Vexen watched with shock as the fire moved along the ground with intense speed. It moved in front of the red haired Nobody, and became a shield. The ice melted instantly in the blazing flames, but the fire died down into smoke from the opposing element.

Three very large needles dug their points deeply into Axel's chest, shining brightly. They were cold as ice, and slightly blue colored, which made Axel realize what had happened.

_He made ice form around these needles because he'd know that I'd make a shield of fire. The ice was stopped, but the needles weren't,_ he noted internally. Stumbling backwards from the pain, Axel placed his hand on a needle, pulling it out. Dark blood coated half of it, and the needle was as long and thick as a pencil. Cursing internally, he pulled out the other two with a grimace, and threw them down. _I haven't gotten any hits off of him, and he's already gashed my head and stabbed me with a couple of cheap needles. Maybe I should stop screwing around._

"What's wrong, Axel? You scare me with a fire show, but your performance is lacking terribly. You should try to focus on hitting me, not entertaining me," Vexen said. He had formed a platform of floating ice in midair, and was standing high above Axel. The flame master gritted his teeth.

"You want to see a show? I'll give you a show you won't forget!" he yelled. The fire grew larger, brighter, and hotter in a second. It had soon become white, and made it near impossible for someone like Vexen to see. Axel's angry face had become a deadly smile, and his body relaxed. Flowing freely, the cut at his head continued to bleed a crimson red streak down his pale face. Bright green eyes reflected the white and red fire, giving him a demonic appearance. The wheels in his hands left him, but began floating around him, making small trails of fire, not that the extra fire was even noticed considering the extreme amount already in the area.

Vexen frowned in what seemed disappointment, but his knees were beginning to shake.

Meanwhile, Roxas and Demyx were going against the Ice Titan. The giant, demonic monster incessantly stamped its feet on the ground to try and squish the Nobodies, but they were too quick. Roxas and Demyx would see the foot raise, and they'd scramble out of the way before it would bring its foot down. Roxas merely dodged attacks while trying to figure a way to damage the gigantic enemy, but Demyx sent water forms to attack the legs. He would strum his sitar, and water would rise from the ground, creating figures that were the exact same form as him. They would gather at the feet and However, they didn't do much because the elements were so similar. If anything, they just annoyed the creature and made it stamp its feet even more.

"Stop sending the forms after him!" Roxas hissed. Demyx nodded, stopping his playing instantly. The young Nobody jumped away from a large foot threatening to crush him, and then his face suddenly brightened. "Demyx! Can you somehow offset the Titan's balance?"

Demyx nodded, placing his fingers on the strings. A smile was on his usually relaxed face.

"No problem-o, Roxie!" he exclaimed back. Roxas would have probably slapped his friend had he not been in a huge fight. Columns of steaming water rose from the ground, and Demyx jumped in the air, playing his sitar. He pointed at the titan, and the water moved in that direction by having a line of the columns shot towards it. The heat, and the huge force of the water clashed with the titan's large leg, and it began to lose balance.

Roxas then gripped his Enduring Dragon and raced to the wobbling creature. With all his strength, he whacked his Keyblade against the leg. It did little, and Roxas needed to think quickly. With another idea within 30 seconds, Roxas ran to the front of the titan, and pointed his Keyblade at the titan's face. Light came out from it, and went straight towards the titan's red eyes. The bright light and the force of water were too much for the huge creature. It slowly began falling, like a giant tree after it's chopped. Toppling on top of the ruined coliseum, Roxas headed straight for the head of the giant ice thing, knowing it'd be dazed.

"Demyx, give me a couple sets of your water clones!" Roxas yelled while running. Demyx is a very goofy guy, but in serious situations, he follows orders like no other. Soon, twenty forms that looked like Demyx were following him, waiting to be utilized. The young nobody stabbed one with his Keyblade when he reached the totally confused and dazed titan. It didn't burst somehow, and Roxas focused light inside of it. The water began glowing brighter and brighter, and when it was a ball of light water energy, he smacked it against the titan's eyes. The monster swiped around its arm, pained by the power and light mixed with water.

"Dang, we can't really do damage without Axel," Roxas muttered, stepping back. "All we can do is just annoy it." He then turned to Demyx. "New plan! Take back your clones! We can't do damage without fire!" Demyx heard it from afar, and suddenly, all the clones popped, and turned to small puddles of water.

Axel stepped forward, still with a crazed look dancing in his eyes. The columns of fire slowly died down into a pile of smoldering ashes. However, flames seemed to resonate from Axel as he took another step. Vexen found himself suddenly falling from the broken piece of ice. He had not even noticed Axel send a wheel at it. Fear struck through him as fast as the wheel had cut through the ice.

_If he can throw those at that speed, then I'm done for already,_ he thought, landing unsteadily in front of Axel, though unharmed. He saw a wheel above Axel slowly coming down once more, and then doing its routine movement around him. In an act of desperation, Vexen sent dozens of icicles from his shield, straight for his rival. They were pointed and sharp like the previous ones he had sent. Axel saw them, and lowered his head and bent his legs very slightly. When close, Axel ducked, swerved, or jumped out of the way of every single needle, not getting hit once.

Vexen frowned, gripping his shield while thinking of what to do. It took but a moment for him to think of a plan, but a moment was enough for Axel. He suddenly found himself thrown in the air from an incredibly strong uppercut punch on his lower jaw. Vexen heard the sickening crunch of cracking bones when hit with the flaming hot fist. Blood filled his mouth in an instant, also filling his nostrils with the ugly metallic scent. The taste made him nauseous, but he forced himself to focus on getting up after falling. He was now on the floor, arms and legs limp, but alive.

Axel stood there with blood leaking through the knuckles of his glove. He glanced at it, not caring in the least bit.

"When I finally start fighting, you nearly die from a stinking punch. You're almost too dull to even mess around with," he remarked, lightly touching his split knuckle. The scientist got up reluctantly, holding his red jaw with both hands, and his shield was on the floor. He wouldn't be able to speak for a very, very long time. The bone was basically hanging by a thread, and broke through the skin of the chin a bit. It was truly a disgusting fight.

Weakly, Vexen, poised himself for battle, now holding his chin with one hand while the other tried to conjure some ice. Axel watched with a smile.

"It's almost not worth it to kill someone like you," Axel said. Vexen watched him with an animal look in his eyes. There was both intense fear and anger, and he was weighing which impulse to act on. Suddenly, the ice master formed a portal behind him, surprising Axel with his cowardly act. The flame master sent a wheel to hit him away from the escape, but Vexen jumped inside, and the flaming wheel merely gashed his back before returning.

"Got away…," Axel spat, frowning. Knowing there was nothing else to do here, he ran to help Roxas and Demyx. Axel was on a very close hill that oversaw the battle which his friends were going through.

The two were busy dodging erratic stomps again when the titan woke up from his confusion and got up in an instant. Axel's intense fire energy had died down, and his wheels were now no longer trailing fire, but were in his hands once again. The resonation became nothing more, as well as the anger in his eyes. He found his friends scrambling from a flurry of icicles that the titan had shot from its mouth, as deadly as bullets of a gun.

"Man, I feel like I've been doing everything lately," Axel moaned, scratching his head. "Oh well. At least this'll be a piece of cake." He chucked both wheels upwards, both parallel and the spikes on the ends facing the titan. They stopped at the peak of their throw, but still spun rapidly. Axel jumped upwards after his wheels, charging his fire energy in the process. He reached the wheels, and also stopped moving, now floating.

_I love being a Nobody. You can defy gravity with special moves,_ he thought, smirking the whole time. He stretched out his hand towards the middle of the two wheels. Two thin lines of fire energy came out of his palm, one going in each wheel. They spun faster and faster, now with fire surrounding them. They resonated a bright orange hue when they were both completely filled with energy, and Axel let his hand fall. He then grabbed both wheels; each with one hand, and pointed them at the titan.

"Here we go!!" he yelled. He felt his wheels rumbling from the intense energy being utilized in one attack; it was almost too much. Suddenly, A gigantic blast of pure fire came from each wheel. They spiraled around each other, becoming twice as big and deadly.

Roxas felt a sudden heat in the battle, and looked up. Fire, the size of three long pillars put together, was going straight for the titan.

"That's our Axel!" he exclaimed with a huge smile. Demyx noticed it too, while jumping away from another stomp.

"That titan is _so screwed!_" Demyx yelled, laughing after his own comment. He ran back from the titan, and towards Axel, who was still sending more fire energy at the titan.

It was like fireworks when the fire collided with the titan. The ice burst into tiny little pieces that flew in the sky, becoming a glitter for the sky. The fire ricocheted everywhere as well, making it look like an explosion. There was absolutely nothing left of the titan, however, when all of it had exploded. It happened so fast that all the Nobodies saw was the aftermath, which was the explosion. They watched in pure awe, at both the beauty, and at Axel's strength. The other two now headed for the flame master, who had collapsed on the floor from the obvious overexertion. The wheels were close by and had smoke rising from them; they were flaming hot to the touch.

"You okay, Axel?" Roxas asked, kneeling next to his friend. Axel twitched, groaning, and the others had to help him to a sitting position. His eyes were half open, and his whole body was relaxed.

"Yup, I'm okay…just super tired," he answered, giving a weak smile. "You guys now _really_ owe me one. I saved that pendant and killed a freaking titan for you." Roxas and Demyx chuckled, helping him to his feet. The flame master stumbled, but caught himself by holding onto Demyx's shoulder.

"Greasie, just lean on my shoulder if you're that weak," he said, smiling. He didn't reply, but merely moved his hand to a more comfortable position on Demyx's shoulder.

A load groaning, then a thump caught everyone's attention. They looked about for the noise, scared stiff. Finally, Roxas found a black lump in the outskirts of the coliseum, and started walking towards it with the other two close behind. When he saw what it was, Roxas stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly sick to his stomach from the gruesome sight. His blue eyes were plastered on it, unable to tear themselves away in disgust. Demyx reacted the same exact way when he saw it as well, but Axel just spat on the ground and frowned at it.

"Vexen…he tried to run, but killed himself trying to use all of his energy to make a portal back to the base," he said. The other two looked at him, shock on their faces.

"You…you completely broke off his jaw and sliced his back open," Demyx spluttered. It was true, the jaw had fallen out of the socket, and half of it showed through broken skin, hanging with blood all over it. The mix of blood, bone, and pulled muscles all together in a mess made everyone nauseous. Most of the head was bloody now, his blonde hair now held red highlights and his face was not unblotched with the wetness. The back of the dead Nobody had a huge red spot, surrounding an especially red line.

"I kind of lost control of my power," he admitted sheepishly, staring at his work. "He's lucky that he died. If he didn't I would've had to chase him down and finish him off." Roxas and Demyx looked down at their own boots, studying the sleek design. Axel watched them with regret in his eyes. Slowly, the dead Nobody started disintegrating into nothingness; black specks began flying off of him.

"I know, I know," he suddenly started again. "It's sick and twisted to kill anyone…but it has to be done…doesn't it?" There was no answer, as neither were sure themselves. Vexen continued to wither into nothingness, never to see the light of day again.

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Mr.Who2123: So so so so so so so sorry for the super late update. Starting a new story and trying to finish this one, so I might be working on this more, I might not. Well, yeah, the end scene was pretty sick, but I wasn't satisfied with Axel burning him to a crisp…I wanted to show Vexen's cowardly personality, and also put it that end paragraph because I'm sure that the three Nobodies feel regret for killing their own former teammates, whether or not they know it. It's quite sad, actually. They have the same goal, but different ways.

In happier news, I have dubbed this story, "The Story with Which I practice my Fight Scenes." Basically, nearly every chapter will have some fighting, because it seems to be my weak point for writing. Be ready for some brawling!

Super sorry once again for the one month hiatus for this story. I have been totally absorbed in Crisis Core, as I have already said like a billion times, but it is the freaking most addictive game ever, whether you want it to be or not.

Tell me how you feel about the change of mood for the story. I've made it a lot more gorier and descriptive, giving an older theme to this story. Do you like it, or would you rather have less? Please tell me in your reviews. Oh, I changed it after my first review, so it isn't as gory. Much love to all my patient readers!!


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